The Demon I Cling To
by CrazyOtaku13
Summary: Natasha finds herself falling for Loki. He wants her to join him, but she sees a 'good side' to him. A Loki redemption story. LokiXNatasha. Rated M to be safe and for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: My first fic in a while . LokiXNatasha. Starting out, there are parallels with the Avengers movie. Marvel owns The Avengers, I own this fic.**

"Keep an eye on him," Nick Fury warned Natasha as he walked past her.

"Yes, sir." Her heels clacked against the floor as she entered the fluorescent-lit room where Loki was kept sequestered in an indestructible enclosure that not even Banner's other half could smash. At the moment, he was sprawled out on the bench towards the back, his backside facing her. She took a seat at the control desk and crossed her legs as she observed the man. Judging by the steady rise and fall of his side, he was asleep… Or maybe that's what the trickster wanted her to think.

He mumbled something incoherent, making Natasha raise a brow. Soon after, his body shifted uncomfortably, followed by more mumbling.

Natasha got up and quietly approached the glass. He was saying something, but she couldn't quite catch it. "Loki," she said quietly. She was unsure if he was sleep talking, or he talked to himself since no one else would.

No response-just the same sleeping position.

Maybe he really _was_ sleeping. Good, less work on her part.

"Father." The once jumbled murmur suddenly made sense.

She pursed her lips as she watched him sleeping, dreaming… Who knew someone so high and mighty would have nightmares about his daddy issues? Thor had told them everything they needed to know about Loki. Thor and Loki weren't even family-Loki was a monster who was lied to all of his life about who he really was…

"Stop!" His voice was but a choked whisper.

She bit her lower lip as she felt her chest tighten. He was in pain-not physical, but mental, and she could tell. She could feel the despair lingering in his sleep-induced pleas. "Loki?" she called out a little louder, hoping to awaken him. She had to remind herself that Thor had also mentioned Loki being infamous for his manipulation. But he was sleeping now- he couldn't be so devious as to take control now. With no response, she swiped her S.H.I.E.L.D. card and pressed her thumb to the keypad, allowing for a door to slide open and allow her inside. The door opened with a faint whoosh and closed behind her upon entrance.

Still, Loki slept- a sign to Natasha that he wasn't faking a slumber. Even if he was awake and tried to attack her, she could hold him off until help arrived.

She took a step towards where he lay. Why was she doing this? He was still so dangerous. Yet asleep, he was defenseless. She could kill him right now if she really wanted to… She could end all his suffering with a single bullet.

"Ah!" He sat upright suddenly in a cold sweat and gasping.

As if by reflex, Natasha grabbed her gun and pointed it straight at his heart.

Loki sat still for a moment with a horrified expression. He took a deep breath and composed himself before turning to his left to see the Black Widow, which made his brows furrow in annoyance.

For a second, Natasha swore she could see the real Loki. The Loki who was misguided, betrayed… "Don't move!" she ordered, keeping the gun raised.

A smirk formed across his lips as he stared at her with a newfound poise. "Aren't you a daring one to join the lion in his den?"

"That's a bit high and mighty coming from the man dreaming about daddy." Salt in the wound, but she wasn't going to lose her cool in front of him.

There was a look of anger on his face, but he quickly replaced it with a sly grin as he rose from the bench. "You heard words escape my lips. Lest you can see inside my mind, for all you know, I could have been pulling you along right into my trap," he taunted.

"Don't try anything," she reminded him.

He began to pace back and forth, watching her from the corner of his eye.

Natasha wouldn't allow for herself to look away for even a second. "Funny, you seemed a bit scared waking up just now," she retorted.

"Are you aware of the tricks I keep hidden? They're _quite_ useful." He stopped in his tracks and stared straight into her green eyes. "You are a clever woman. It would be to your advantage that you leave."

She folded her arms across her chest. "You think you're so dangerous, don't you, _Loki?_" His name escaped her lips with disdain.

"Do you challenge me?"

"You're defenseless without your staff. I'm the one here that's armed," she reminded him.

"Am I? Am I _really_ as weak and defenseless as you think?" he jeered as he took a step towards her. "Would you like for me to show you something your small mind can fail to even imagine?" As he spoke, he slowly raised a hand into the air.

"Loki!" she shouted as she readied her finger on the trigger. The pistol pointed directly at his head, a sure fire shot that she wasn't going to miss.

He raised both hands in mock defeat and began to chuckle. "Let's not resort to violence, now. Would that not be a shame if your weapon were to scratch this marvelous little cage?" he drawled with heavy sarcasm.

"You'd be amazed at what this prison can take." She lowered her gun as he took a step back."Learn your place here- you're the prisoner and I'm in charge right now."

"Seeing that you put yourself here with me, I'd say you made yourself a captive. We're two of a kind now," he noted.

"Unlike _you_, I can leave." Slowly, she took a step back, glaring at his smirking face as she reached the compartment's entrance.

"Leaving so soon?" he teased. "Here I thought we were about to have some fun."

"You can have fun on your own!" she scoffed. The door opened and she stepped out, allowing for the door to seal itself shut. She then returned to the nearby chair and sat with her legs crossed.

"And still, you stay."

"I'm on babysitting duty," she commented. "How does _that_ make you feel?"

Chuckling quietly, he started his pacing once again. "You make for much better company that the others- tell your commander that, won't you?"

Her eyes narrowed and she kicked at the polished floor. "This isn't what my job entails."

"Ah, but of course." He rubbed his hands together and paused to stare in her direction. "The trained assassin hailing from Russia." A look of confusion formed on her face, pleasing Loki. "Ivan Petrovich—"

"Shut up!" she snapped before he could finished. She had leapt up from the chair and struck the glass with the side of her fist.

"Have I gone too far?" He sounded rather satisfied with his taunts. "I can always go on, you know," he crooned. "You would be amazed at all that Barton has told me…"

Her eyes lit up at the mention of Clint's name. "You know where he is?" Her expression grew cold within a matter of seconds. "Where is he and what have you done to him?!" Was Clint being tortured? This information was clearly being forced out in some dangerous way. There was no way Loki would know her history…

"I seem to have struck on a rather touchy subject."

"Don't fuck with me!" she shouted, beating on the glass. "Tell me where he is or I'll use force-I'll call Fury over right now!" she threatened.

His serene expression remained unfazed despite her threats. "How about I bring him over?" he wagered.

Natasha's body froze for a second. "How?" she asked softly. "Is this one of your tricks?"

"Call it what you will."

"If you want freedom in exchange for Agent Barton, you're not getting it," she sternly reminded him. "I'll _force_ his location out of you myself."

"Why resort to force when I can simply summon him here?" He folded his hands behind his back as he advanced closer to Natasha. Her eyes stared into his, pleading-a rather pathetic sight that excited him. "It's as simple as that," he assured her. "I'll call upon your lover and have him kill everyone here, saving you for last." His smile grew wider as his threats grew darker. "Or perhaps I'll kill him first so you can watch. That would be painful, would it not?"

"So he's alright?"

"He's more than alright," he assured her.

"Then I'll find him myself," she vowed. "All the while, Fury and the others will torture _you._ Or," she defiantly stared up at him through her eyelashes, "I'll torture you myself. Slowly, painfully- I'll make you regret ever coming to this world in the first place," she coolly warned him.

"Well, well, Ms. Romanoff, I, for one, am _very_ impressed!" he exclaimed. "So bold. Tell me, don't you think a woman of your superior skills are better suited for something better?"

She turned her back to him in resentment.

"Agent Barton thinks so…"

She turned her head to the side. What was he suggesting? The Clint had teamed up with him? "Agent Barton isn't like that. I'll find him- you can count on that." She took a step forward, dangerously close to the enemy. If it weren't for the glass barrier between them, they would be within touching distance. "Do you play this scam on everyone?" she asked. "Lure them in with your words, hoping they'll willingly follow? Because no one here is like that."

He stared down at the floor to avoid her icy stare. "Only you," he admitted. "There is so…" His eyes met with hers, "_so _much potential in you, yet you choose _them_." His hand formed a fist at his side.

There it was again- that look of loneliness hidden within his green eyes. "You could do so much more- imagine being able to redeem yourself from all the wrong doings. Don't we all long for a fresh start? For redemption?"

She pursed her lips as she wondered just how much Clint was telling him. And for what reason?

"There sure as hell better not be a _scratch_ on that glass!" Nick Fury barked as he entered the containment zone.

"Think about it," he whispered.

Natasha turned on her heel to talk to Fury. "Not a single scratch." With that, she was gone.

Loki watched her hips sway as she stormed out. This was going to be fun, indeed.

"You'd best wipe that smirk off your face," Fury growled.

"And what if I have reason to celebrate?"

"I'm starting to grow concerned for your sanity…"


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: _****Again, Marvel owns The Avengers, etc., the story's mine :P**

_"Only you." _His words echoed in her thoughts as she attempted to get some rest. Every time she heard his voice, she reminded herself that he spoke of nothing but lies. Still, her mind kept thinking back to their conversation. Supposedly, he saw potential in her- and what about Clint? She needed answers. Now. Right now before the gnawing obsession to know would drive her mad. She slipped on a pair of jeans and her leather boots before throwing on a tan jacket over her black top as she left her room. She was going back to the enemy territory and she wasn't prepared to leave until he gave her answers.

Long fingers leafed through colourful pages of sports cars and scantily clad women. Any normal man would have found this subject matter appealing, but Loki found no interest whatsoever in the culture of these people. Machines, women… Where was the need for power, for a chance at glory? He tossed the magazine off to the side, along with several others Fury brought to humour him with. The unexpected sound of footsteps took him by surprise at this hour. More watchdogs. Was it all necessary? He raised a brow and stood up as his guest appeared. "This is quite the surprise, Agent Romanoff."

She seated herself in the chair nearest to the enclosure's entrance. "What did you say to Agent Barton to persuade him to come with you?" she demanded.

"Interrogations at this hour?"

"Cut the act!" she snapped.

He sat down on his bench and stared in her direction. "It wasn't so much as my words, rather, the Tesseract."

"And what did the Tesseract tell him?"

"It showed him things far greater than you could ever imagine. Knowledge, power… You should allow it to show you desires far beyond you."

"I'm not like you," she stated. "Neither is Agent Barton. We don't need power."

"What about memories?" he asked her.

A silence fell upon them as she registered what he had just asked.

"Memories of a past that was taken. Memories that rightfully belong to you. Do you not seek the truth of your past, Ms. Romanoff?"

Her nails dug into her palm as she formed a fist. How did he know all of this? No one should have known. "This Tesseract," she began after a pause, "it told you this- it gave you this knowledge?" she guessed.

"No." He shut his eyes as he shook his head.

"Then _what?_" she hissed. Clearly, a straight answer from him was proving to be difficult.

Slowly, he lifted his eyes to meet her gaze. "My Mother and Father," he said, green eyes filled with emptiness. "Laufey. Not Odin," he quietly continued as he rubbed his hands together.

Clearly, she was a sucker for his pity act… but he seemed so genuinely sad-lost, even. Thor had said Loki was misguided and she could see it now so clearly. "The other day when you were sleeping- were you dreaming about him?" she prodded.

He lowered his eyes and folded his hands together. "I dreamt Odin banished me. It wasn't so much of a dream as my own past…"

Right then, Natasha felt that she had grasped hold of the real Loki. Perhaps they wouldn't have to be enemies, so long as she could turn him around. "You don't have to go on."

He stared at her with a faint smile. "I recall bringing up your past in our previous discussion. Think of this as compensation."

She nodded in agreement and turned her head to pretend to examine a set of monitors lined up against a wall.

"I fail to comprehend how any of you can understand those," he noted.

"Hmm?" She turned to face him. "No technology back home? Must be difficult."

"Ignorance is bliss, is it not?"

She smiled and laughed weakly. "What is your home like?"

He began to chuckle. "Curious? Well…" He decided to indulge her with stories of Asgard and he even let slip a story of he and Thor as children.

Natasha listened, fully engaged in his vivid descriptions. She even found herself laughing at his story where he and Thor brought home a wild beast as a potential pet. She wasn't sure how long he had talked for. It was only when she felt her eyelids grow heavy that Loki stopped.

"Perhaps tomorrow we can continue if you enjoy this so much," he offered.

Her eyes flickered open and she checked her phone, only to realize that they had been talking for over two hours. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do." She got up and proceeded to leave.

"Pleasant dreams, Ms. Romanoff," he told her with a smile.

"Same to you. Loki." She smiled tiredly and walked towards her room. Not only did she just have a two hour conversation with the enemy, but she believed that she successfully managed to reach out to him. He needed someone. Someone to trust. Someone who would care. All he had was Thor, but Thor didn't trust him. No one did…


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to those reading the story and following/reviewing/etc. :D ...Looking back over the chapters I've written, I feel bad that Natasha gets out-of-character (that's what I feel, at least .) She's really my second favourite character and I feel bad not doing her justics .**

"Okay, wait, so you want us to give Loki a chance?" Tony asked in exasperation. "Keep talking and you'll go in the magic glass box with him," he added.

Thor shook his head and looked Natasha in the eyes. "I have warned you about my brother's way with words. You can't rust a thing he says."

"What exactly _did_ he tell you?" wondered Fury. "Details on Agent Barton?"

Natasha's mind had been so Loki-centered that she had forgotten about Clint. "I got through to him."

Thor stared at her curiously.

"He told me about Asgard," she began.

Thor heaved a sigh.

"No!" she whirled on Thor. "That wasn't it- the Tesseract! He said it showed him his parents-the real ones. And the look in his eyes… He looked so alone…"

"I think that's a load of bull," remarked Tony.

"I think you may be right," interrupted Thor. "Loki is my brother. To be able to let him redeem himself from his wrongdoings will be good for the people of Asgard. Loki is misguided- he needs to have people to accept him."

"So you're saying we accept the guy that kills like there's no tomorrow? Think again, Blondie," Tony retorted.

"But if he's on our side, we can let him go," Natasha pointed out.

"I don't think we're in any position to let him loose right now. Just in case, you know?" Bruce piped up as he rubbed his hands together.

"I am _so_ glad you and I are on the same page," said Tony. He went over to Bruce's corner to pat him on the back.

Steve rolled his eyes at Tony. "I'm all for forgiveness, don't get me wrong, ma'am. Just as long as he's really sorry."

"We'll give it time," stated Fury. "Until then, he stays locked up."

They all dispersed, aside from Natasha and Bruce.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

Her eyes were locked on Loki's scepter that rested atop a stainless steel table. "No."

A smile formed on Loki's face as Natasha approached the glass cage late in the afternoon.

Natasha happened to turn her head in time to see him smile at her and felt her chest tighten. She quickly averted her gaze and pushed back a strand of red hair. "About Agent Barton…" she began. "I think it would be best you return him to us."

"And what do I receive in return?" he asked.

"Trust." She approached the entrance and looked him straight in the eyes. "Not just from me, but the others, as well."

A laugh escaped his throat. "Oh, I'm far from earning their trust."

"How sure are you?" She raised a brow.

"You say you want me to call upon your lover—"

"We're not like that," she quickly added, rolling her eyes. "I only owe him a debt."

"If I have him come here, how can you be so sure that he won't wreak havoc upon this facility of yours?"

"Because Agent Barton isn't like that. He won't hurt anyone, unless the job calls for it." Her eyes narrowed. "Why do you say that? What did you really do to him?"

"The Tesseract," he reminded her.

"Are you saying that you, yourself, has no idea as to what's happened to him?"

"I lie," he reminded her with a sly grin.

"Dammit, Loki!" she shouted. She beat her fist against the glass. "I'm trying to _help_ you get out and you insist on running it!"

"Is that really what you want?" he coolly asked. "Do you _really_ want to see me free? I'll kill everyone." He leaned into the glass and pressed his hand against it.

"No you won't."

"Is this a challenge, Ms. Romanoff? Because I _gladly_ accept!"

"You won't hurt anyone," she told him. Her hand pressed against the glass over his. "Because then, you'll lose any chance you had at acceptance."

His eyes lowered as he turned away.

"You're not as bad as you think you are…"

"That's where you're wrong." The heels of his shoes clacked against the floor as he went to sit on the bench.

"Am I?" She reached down into her belt to pull out her ID. She swiped the card in the chamber's scanner and had her fingerprint checked. The door opened and Natasha stepped back. "When you feel you can't let anyone in, I'm here."

His expression went blank as he stared up at her. Still, he sat, as if waiting for her to shut the door in his face.

"Let's say you used some of your…magic because I slipped up." She turned and started to walk away.

"How foolish can you be?" he asked, rising from the bench with a smirk. "I can kill you right now. I'll kill everyone."

"I trust you enough not to." She froze in place as she heard his footsteps coming towards her.

"Thank you," he whispered into her ear.

His breath felt cold and it made her body shiver and heart race. Was this fear? Had she really made such a mistake?

Loki began to chuckle as he retreated back into his cage.

Natasha took a deep breath to calm herself down. "See? You're not as bad as you think." She turned to follow him inside. He managed to instill such fear that she rarely felt and it left her oddly charmed.

A smile formed on his face that made Natasha's cheeks flush. "Does it matter? After all, Fury told me that we're thousands of feet above the earth. Either way, I'm trapped until we reach landfall."

The sensation of that same fear crept back in. "But you won't."

He gingerly ran his slender fingers through her hair. "You allowed me freedom, so in return, Agent Barton is yours."

The fear was quickly replaced by a tightening in her chest. "Thank you…" The sensations he instilled within her made her worry. This wasn't like her- the Black Widow had nothing to fear, yet this man was bringing those rare emotions to the surface.

"You best go. Before someone catches us in this most unforgivable offense."

"I have no regrets," she stated before turning away and leaving. This was a lie. She rued every moment spent with the trickster god. He made her feel like a traitor to those she worked with. She had to find out Barton's whereabouts, however. There was also the lingering thought in her head that perhaps she could also persuade Loki to change his vile ways. He wasn't the only one skilled in manipulation…

The glass enclosure began to shut as she walked away. This was going to prove to be an exciting day, after all… He outstretched a hand and forced the door to stay ajar.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Again, still slightly following bits from the movie**

Natasha was just on her way to meet up with Fury when an explosion went off and sounded the alarms.

"We've been hit!" someone shouted as they ran off towards the control room.

She ran faster down the hall until she saw Steve frantically looking around.

"Move faster!" Tony growled at him as he shoved him aside.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Barton," said Tony.

"What? He's back?" _Good job, Loki._

"He was seen shooting a bomb-equipped arrow straight at us," Tony explained as he secured a silver bracelet to his wrist.

"Wait—"

"He's against us," muttered Steve as he went to grab his shield.

"Suit up, Spidey," Tony told her before running after Steve to get his Iron Man suit.

She reached into her holster and drew her gun as another explosion sounded. Loki had said Clint was different- had he really turned on them?

"No!"

Natasha heard Banner shouting and immediately knew that this was bad news. Clint could wait-the Hulk couldn't. She ran into Banner's makeshift work area and held up her gun, ready to fire.

"How did you escape?" asked Banner as he grabbed his chest.

"_Magic_," Loki chuckled as he reached out to grab the handle of his golden scepter. "Tell me, how does one get to see the monster inside of you?" he taunted.

"Loki!" gasped Natasha.

Bruce turned his head to face her. "Run," he mouthed. A greenish tinge coloured his skin and his body began to grow in size.

"Fascinating!" Loki breathed. He was like a child on Christmas. "Let's see how your friends enjoy you when you're mine." He tapped the sharp, silver end of his staff against the Hulk's chest, but before anything could take effect, the beast had grabbed him by the ankle and flipped him around, straight into the floor.

Natasha didn't know why, but she fired at the Hulk, which made him turn his attention to her. "Shit!" she hissed. "Bruce-we're on the same team. It's okay!" Her words of reassurance were clearly ineffective since he charged straight for her.

"Filthy beast!" Loki growled as he leapt up from a pile of rubble. Using the staff's power, he forced the Hulk to freeze in place and he threw a punch at his chest, forcing the monster to stagger back.

Bruce's other half was clearly feeling threatened and swat Loki aside like a fly.

Still, Loki staggered up, appearing to be unaffected by the beating. Right when he stood up, a shot rang out, sending him back to the ground.

"That's for whatever you did to Clint!" she snapped. Smoke billowed from her gun after the shot.

A mouthful of blood was coughed up by Loki as he lurched forward. "Turning against me already?" he asked with a smile.

"Don't act like we were comrades!" she spat.

Thor appeared in the doorway and fixed his blue eyes on his brother. "Loki!?"

Loki's eyebrows knit together. His composure went from cool to furious in a matter of seconds.

"Thor, deal with Banner!" Natasha ordered as the Hulk charged for Loki.

The well-built blonde nodded and threw his hammer at the beast, bringing it to a halt.

"Drop it!" Natasha yelled at Loki, who was eying his scepter.

He willingly let go, chuckling all the while.

She knelt down to his level, pointing the gun directly against his chest.

"Please, do shoot!" he encouraged her.

"_Listen_," she hissed. Her face was dangerously close to his own. "You're going to take me to the Tesseract," she ordered in a hushed whisper.

His eyes widened in surprise. "So you decide to willingly join me now?"

She jabbed the gun into his chest even further. "I want back what's rightfully mine."

"Then shoot me," he whispered as he leaned into her.

She fired the gun at his side, making sure she missed any vital organs.

He winced from the sharp pain and grasped hold of her arm and grabbed his scepter in the other. Within seconds, they were both transported to Midgard, right on top of Stark tower.

Natasha groaned and brought a hand to her head. "What the hell?" Her head was spinning from the suddenness of their transportation. A bright glow forced her to tightly shut her eyes. It was only when they fully adjusted that she realized their location. "What—…" She looked over the cityscape and turned around to see Loki collapsed onto the ground, blood pooling around him. "Loki?" she exclaimed. She dropped to his side and pressed an ear to his chest. _Still beating…_ "Loki!"

He groaned, then forced himself to sit up. "My body takes time to heal."

She stared at him in disbelief. Any normal person would've been dead after a beating through the floor by the Hulk. These Asgardians must have been something else. Then again, he and Thor were gods.

"Well?" He tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear so he could see her eyes.

Natasha felt her face grow hot under his cool touch.

Loki 's eyes darted off in direction of the device which held the Tesseract. "Go."

Slowly, she nodded and went to closely examine the glowing azure cube known as the Tesseract. Hesitant hands reached out, but couldn't bring themselves to touch the object.

"Scared?"

Natasha forced back a scream as his voice murmured in her ear.

He placed his hands over hers and he manipulated her like his puppet until she held the cube in her own two hands. A gasp escaped her lips as she could feel the memories pouring into her. He was right. Loki had told her the truth… The sudden rush of the memories made her feel dizzy, but it was better than the usual nausea she suffered whenever she forced herself to try and remember things.

"What did it show you?" he asked. He hovered behind her, hands now at his side.

"Everything I was." She turned and brought a hand to his face. "Everything you can be… and everything _we_ can be."

He raised a brow as he curiously eyed her. "What are you implying?" he grinned.

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth.

Loki felt himself shift backwards. He wasn't sure how to react by her sudden gesture.

Their kiss quickly ended as she frantically drew back. "I… We might make a good team-that's what I saw-"

Before she could explain any further, he pressed his mouth against hers and placed his hands on her hips. "A good team in which sense?" he asked with a smirk. "Companions in battle?... Intimacy?" he prodded.

"Both?" The way her body heated up around him made his touch feel extra cold.

"And whose side are we on?" he whispered.

A silence fell upon them. "The Avengers."

"Full of surprises, aren't you?" he asked, playing with a strand of hair.

"Don't underestimate me," she slyly told him.

"Shall we go back now?" he asked. "I believe I'm in for quite the punishment."

"Let's make them come to us," she said.

His smile widened as he indulged in her frisky attitude. "I wouldn't want to cause any trouble on your behalf."

"Oh," she breathed, "you've already done that." She slipped her hand in between his. "This is Stark's place," she advised him. "He'll come here. They all will."

"What then?"

"We wait," she began. "We'll just have to lie low." She gave his traditional Asgardian outfit a once over, then realized she was dressed in her skintight black suit.

"A change, then?" With the use of some basic magic, he now wore his choice Midgard attire of a black suit and tie with a green and gold scarf around his shoulders.

Natasha stared down at herself to realize that she now wore a skin-tight black mini dress. As impressed as she was, she wasn't sure what to think of her new attire. "What's the occasion?" she asked. It had been a while since she had an opportunity to dress up for something other than a mission.

"We might as well have a bit of fun while we wait for your…" He paused to think of a proper term, "'friends' to show up."

"I'm sure they can be your friends, too, if you play a bit nicer."

He placed a hand on the small of her back and used his cane to transport them to ground level. "We best find a place to stay for the night."

The idea of staying overnight together seemed a bit risqué, but he was bringing out another side of her.

They walked down the crowded streets, looking like any other ordinary couple ready for the night out. As dusk fell, they approached a hotel and Loki ordered a suite, one bed.

As a concierge escorted them to their room, Natasha couldn't help but wonder what was going on in the trickster's mind.

"How long until you think they will arrive?" Loki suddenly asked once they were alone in the room. He strode over to the glass wall overlooking the city streets. There were so many people- all waiting for his rule.

She went over to join his side. "Soon," she guessed. "Why so eager?"

"Curious," he corrected her, his eyes scanning the streets.

As he stood deep in thought, she decided to step out of the room to try contacting Fury.

"Agent Romanoff," he began in a gruff tone. "Where the hell are you? Reports say you were kidnapped…"

She paused to contemplate the situation at hand. _She_ was the real culprit, but she couldn't allow for Fury to know that. "I've located the Tesseract," she began. "I have Loki where I want him and I've gathered useful information…"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This is the first time I've really written smut like this before xD Reading and drawing smut, yes. Writing, no lol**

The skies grew dark and Loki turned himself away from the nightlife. He pulled off his scarf and tossed it aside on the black leather couch. He then laid down, closing his eyes in contemplation. Agent Romanoff was contacting her Chief, who would soon come, joined by Thor and those others… It was only a matter of time, now. He would have to activate the Tesseract tomorrow to follow through on his side of the 'bargain.'

Natasha stepped back into the room after finishing her call. The room was silent and her spy instincts kicked in as she noticed Loki's absence. "Loki?" she called out.

"Hmm?"

The sound was coming from the couch that faced away from her. "Worn out, already?" She leaned over the back of the sofa to stare down at him.

"After today, quite," he admitted.

With his eyes shut, he appeared to be so peaceful, innocent, even. Her hand reached down to trace the faint marks of a cut on his cheek.

Slowly, he opened his eyes to stare up at her.

"Never mess with Banner when he's not himself," she warned him.

"And is that supposed to make up for the two gunshots I received from you?" he asked with a sly grin.

"You were literally thrown into the floor and gunshots are your concern? You're lucky he didn't break every bone in your body…"

"I_ am_ a god."

"That's right…" She moved to the other side of the couch and sat on the edge. Her hand traced along the front of his shirt and down to his side, where she had shot him. She couldn't feel a hole in the skin. "You really are something else."

"So I've heard," he said as he sat up and reached over to grab a room service menu from the coffee table. "Order whatever you like," he told her.

"I take it you're _paying?_" she wondered as she took the menu from his outstretched hand. "I don't think they'll accept your Asgard currency."

"What say I persuade our kind attendant into allowing us to indulge in a meal free of charge?"

She shook her head in annoyance. "You have no intention of paying for any of this, do you?"

"You'd be amazed at the generosity your kind is capable of displaying…" He went over to a mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine, then grabbed two glasses from the counter beside it. "How about we make a toast?"

" To what?" She crossed her legs as he approached her on the couch.

"To us," he smiled. He used his magic to open the bottle with ease and poured them each a glass.

"Here's to hoping you'll join S.H.I.E.L.D." she winked as she accepted the glass. She tapped her glass against his and began to drink.

"Tell me, you can handle your alcohol, yes?"

"I'm Russian. Why? Should I worry about you?" she suspiciously asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know what it's like to experience intoxication," he told her. "Thor, however is horrible." He narrowed his eyes as he stared into the contents of his glass.

"You still care about him, don't you?"

He sat there, silent, until he finally took a drink. "I could care less, honestly."

"He cares about you," she reminded him.

He turned his head away. "No one cares about me. Not anymore…"

"Loki." Natasha brought her hand to his face and forced him to stare at her. "Thor cares. _I _care." She pressed her red lips to his.

He set his glass on the table. One hand rested on her half-exposed thigh while the other made its way into the waves of her red hair.

The feel of his cool touch against her flesh sent a spark of excitement through her body. In her mind flashed the images of her and Loki together, happy, and with S.H.I.E.L.D. All of it felt like memories-but they weren't-not yet, at least. Everything felt so real, so real that her heart began to ache. She felt as though she had known him for so long, yet really, they were strangers. "I love you," she gasped as they broke apart from a heated kiss.

"Too much to drink," he warned her. He tore his hands away from her.

"No," she stated. "I do. If you saw what I saw today, then you would know."

"Do you really put so much faith in me in thinking I'll change?"

"I _saw_. I'll make you happy." Her hands reached out to touch his chest. "Isn't that what you really want-to be happy?"

"Yes." His green eyes stared into hers, wide with worry.

She boldly moved onto his lap and leaned in to whisper into his ear. "I'll make you happy right now."

"A shame to drink so little and be so lost…"

"I'm completely sober right now," she breathed against his cheek. Her hand grabbed his and forced it against her thigh again.

"I'll gladly accept the invitation, if you so deeply insist…" He hoisted her up and carried her to the king-sized bed. He was no expert in pleasing a woman, but his instincts had the right idea. He pinned her down and kissed her, slipping his tongue in between her lips to taste her. A curious hand trailed down her body and cupped her breast. She was so soft, so hot. His hand travelled further down her side and slid up her dress until he reached the core of her heat. Slowly, his fingers began to fondle her most private area, hot and wet.

A moan escaped her throat. She wanted to escape-to break away, but the undisclosed feelings within her welcomed his every touch.

"Is this not what you wanted?" he whispered into her ear. His cool breath sent a shiver throughout her body.

The idea of sleeping with the enemy made her feel like she was letting her team down, but the visions she was shown of Loki being one of the good guys gave her hope. Right now, she knew she needed him. Her body begged for him. She wrapped her arms around his neck more tightly. "Stop fooling around," she begged.

His smile widened at this request. "I think I'll focus on taking my time now." He slid a finger inside of her, making Natasha gasp.

"You're making this far too much fun."

"You're cruel," she breathed as she grabbed his tie in an effort to remove it.

He let her take off his tie and unbutton his shirt. Loki's body was aching for her, making him feel uncomfortable with his pants on.

Natasha skillfully tugged at his belt and undid the clasp on his pants. "Two can play at this game," she breathed as her hand reached in to caress his erection.

A low moan escaped his throat, only to be stifled as he bit his lower lip.

"You're cute when you're like this," she teased, admiring the look of pleasure all over his face.

He removed her hand from his trousers and pinned it over her head. "Not so fast, little spider," he whispered. "Allow me to satisfy you in ways you've never felt." He pulled her dress over her head and threw it aside. However, his fingers were having trouble in trying to unclasp her bra.

"So says the god who can't take off a bra," she taunted.

He softly chuckled under his breath as he watched her remove the pesky Midgardian undergarment. "You're beautiful," Loki whispered into her ear as he fondled an exposed breast with one hand, while the other toyed with her clit.

She bit her lower lip in an effort to stifle another moan as he slid two fingers inside of her.

He pressed his mouth to hers and readied himself at her entrance. His body was overwhelmed by the heat that emanated from within her.

Natasha clung to him, moaning in pleasure. Loki's member penetrated her even further and she began to cry out. "Loki!" she panted. Their bodies became one as their hips moved together in a rhythmic motion.

Loki found that his own breathing was unsteady with every thrust. "Natasha," he softly groaned. He felt himself reaching his climax.

She dug her nails into his back. Her chest tightened as he said her name.

After a deep thrust, he came inside her.

Natasha smiled at him, her body slightly trembling from the passion.

He returned the smile and reached out to touch her flushed face. "You truly are beautiful," he whispered before he kissed her red lips.

Her naked body curled against his and she rested her head against his chest. She soon fell asleep from exhaustion.

As she slept, Loki aimlessly played with her hair until he, too, drifted off to sleep. For once, he slept rather fitfully. There were no nightmares, no haunting of his past, just peace.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: And more smut. Thanks to all the readers/followers/reviewers :'D I love you all!**

When he awoke the next morning, he found that both of his arms were wrapped around Natasha's body. Having her so close to him was comforting. Maybe she was the reason his nightmares were kept at bay… He frowned at the childishness of the thought and removed himself from her. He got out of the bed and kicked past the pile of their clothes lying on the floor as he went to take a cold shower. The icy water relaxed him-it always did. He figured that was the Frost Giant in him… As he stood in the shower, water pelting against his body, he thought long and hard about not dominating this world, but Agent Romanoff. She was useful to him, but now, there was so much more. She loved him-_love_… such a complex emotion that he had trouble grasping. He loved before, He loved the people he called Mother and Father. He loved Thor. But that was all behind him, now. They couldn't bring themselves to love him again, and he accepted that. But Romanoff… The door opened and Natasha had stepped inside the bathroom.

"I'll join you," she said as she grabbed the shower curtain and pulled it aside.

His tense face relaxed as he smiled at her. "Of course."

Without hesitation, she stepped inside the shower, only to flinch at the freezing temperature. "_Shit!_" she hissed.

A smirk formed across his face. "Not fond of the cold?"

"I'm used to it, actually," she informed him. "I just wasn't aware you liked ice baths." Truthfully, the icy water was going to take a few minutes to get used to. At least she had Loki there to block most of the droplets from hitting her.

"Well…" He lowered his eyes. "I believe my parentage plays a factor."

The sudden realization hit her. "Oh. Sorry…" She looked away and folded her arms across her chest.

He turned to stare at her, his smirk returning. He couldn't help but notice the way her crossed arms accentuated her breasts. The way her body trembled ever so slightly reminded him of the way one's body shakes with fear. Seeing her dripping wet and shaking with a hurt look made his smile widen.

Finally, she looked up, suddenly glaring at him as she noticed the direction of his gaze. "Men will be men," she growled, turning her back to him.

He unexpectedly pulled her against his bare chest.

Natasha felt her face grow hot as her back pressed against the muscular contour of his front. "You're freezing," she noted as she turned to face him. Her hands pressed against his face and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his lips.

He kissed back, slipping his tongue into her mouth as he pinned her to the wall.

"Isn't this a bit early?" she asked, her hands in his wet hair.

"The clothing is already out of the way," he chuckled.

"I was hoping to take a shower," she reminded him.

"Are we not already here?" he blinked innocently enough.

"To actually _bathe_," she reiterated.

"Oh, but this will be much more fun," his voice softly hissed. He hoisted her up and spun around so she would be in the direct path of the shower head.

"Jerk!" she playfully shrieked. Her legs locked around his narrow hips and her arms hugged his neck.

"Allow for me to warm you up." He nuzzled against her large breasts, then began to lick away the cold droplets that trailed down her silky flesh.

She shuddered as his surprisingly hot tongue met with her wet skin.

He took advantage of this opportunity to toy with her some more by running his tongue over a nipple. Being so close to her chest allowed for him to hear her heart beat and oh, how her heart was _racing. _"You're shaking," he murmured.

"The cold is getting to me," she lied. Natasha hated how collected he managed to be, whereas she felt like an emotional mess. The way his tongue traced along her skin wasn't helping, either.

"You said you were used to it," he reminded her.

"How about a different position?" she asked as she arched her back against the tile.

"Am I hurting you?"

"It's hard for me to play with you backed against the wall." A playful smirk formed across her lips.

He set her down and watched as she got down on her knees. She grabbed his length and gave him a gentle squeeze before taking him into her mouth.

A throaty chuckle escaped his lips. He grabbed a fistful of her red hair and threw his head back as she continued sucking on his cock.

She stopped to look up at him and smiled over the fact that she finally got a turn to tease him. Hearing him softly moan and seeing the pleasured expression on his face made her want him even more. "Get down," she ordered him.

A brow arched as he glanced down at her.

She laid back against the shower's edge and spread her legs for him.

He obliged and knelt down. Without wasting a second, he inserted his member inside of her.

Natasha's fingers laced themselves in his wet hair. Her body heated up almost instantly. The cold water was no longer an issue for the two of them.

Loki pressed his mouth to hers, stifling her moans as their deed continued.

When they finished, they were both on the shower floor, staring at each other as the water continued to pour down on them. Loki kissed her hair before he got out. "If you'll excuse me, I have business to tend to."

"Wait-" she blinked. "What?"

"Matters at hand beckon me."

"Thor?" she asked.

"I would assume they will arrive soon."

"Where's my uniform at?" she asked him as she shut the water off.

"Back in the bedroom," he told her. Once he had her out of that dress last night, his magic wore off and had her clothes changed back to their rightful forms.

She grabbed a towel off the nearby rack and wrapped her dripping body in it.

"Joining me?" he asked as he watched her dry herself off.

"We're going together." She found her black leather bodysuit was now laid in the place of her evening dress. She grabbed her phone and saw that Fury had called her several times between last night and this morning. "Shit," she muttered.

Loki appeared behind her, already dressed in his Asgardian attire. "Have they come looking for you yet?"

"Did you _purposefully_ take my phone last night?" she asked him as she reached for her bra.

"Your devices make no sense to me," he reminded her as he turned to make his leave. "I should tell you now-we have someone else joining us."

Natasha finished zipping up her leather suit and strapped on her belts and holsters. "I have a guess…"

He smiled and coolly approached her. "And if your guess is correct, then should I be worried?"

"Worried?" she raised a brow.

"Will your feelings for Agent Barton overpower your feelings for me?" he asked with a smirk.

She stared into his green eyes, long and hard. "No." She and Barton had never been as romantic as she had been with Loki. The thought of this morning and last night caused the emotions in her chest to stir up.

He leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Whatever happens, do not worry about me. Keep yourself safe."

"Safe from what?"

He walked towards the door, leaving her without an answer.


	7. Chapter 7

Natasha followed him out of the hotel and her eyes widened at the sight of Clint standing outside, waiting. "Clint!" She found herself practically running over to the bowman. "Where have you been?"

His expression was unreadable, especially since his eyes were concealed by a pair of sunglasses.

"Clint?" She reached out to touch his face, but Loki's hand on her shoulder pulled her away.

"Make sure Selvig is positioned at the Tesseract," he informed him. "Tell him to unleash the power."

Barton nodded and without a word, he ran off in the direction of Stark tower.

"He's not the same," she said quietly, sadness in her voice.

"His mind is in a much better place," Loki informed her.

"I'm still the same person I was- why is Barton so different?" she demanded.

"As I said, the Tesseract opened up his mind."

Before she could say another word, a dark cloud loomed overhead, followed by thunder and a smashing sound against the pavement sounded behind them.

Loki's eyes narrowed as he clenched his fists. He looked ahead to see Thor, accompanied with the two other costumed men.

Natasha noticed the disgusted look on his face and whirled around.

"Thor was the first to make an advancement towards Loki. "Surely, you have gone mad, Brother!" he shouted.

"You're going to cause a scene," smirked Loki.

"You aren't hurt, are you, ma'am?" Steve called out to Natasha.

She shook her head. "What happened after I left? Banner-"

"He's calmed down after a nap," Tony assured her. "Our main concern right now is you. How is he controlling you without his magic wand?"

Loki shook his head and laughed. "Oh, there's been no magic used," he assured Stark.

"You seem to have her under your control," Tony remarked.

"I am _not!_" she snapped at him.

Thor threw his Mjolnar at Loki, hitting him in the chest and pinning him to the ground.

"Well, that's one way to do it," Tony shrugged from within the Iron Man suit.

Loki, now rendered useless, tried to effortlessly shove Mjolnar off of him.

"Right where we want you." Iron Man approached Loki and hovered over him.

"Listen to me, Stark!" Natasha yelled at him. "This Tesseract-it showed me there's good in him. If you'll give him the chance-"

"Where is it?" he asked her.

"Stark Tower."

"You know where to go. Big guy!" he indicated at Thor. "Grab him. We're going." He grabbed Natasha by an iron arm.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, hitting her fists against the suit.

"We're taking a short cut. Don't scratch the paint job," he added. With that, he took off into the air with Thor, who had Loki thrown over his broad shoulder.

They soon landed atop Stark tower. Once there, Thor threw Loki against the ground, held in place with his hammer.

Iron Man set Natasha aside and went to take off his Iron Man suit.

Professor Selvig and Hawkeye both turned their attention from tinkering with the Tesseract, to Loki.

"Someone tell me what all of this is," Tony began as he sauntered over, his eyes glued to the towering machine which held the Tesseract. "You," he continued, staring at Loki. "Any comment?"

"We're all gathered for the big show, it would seem," chuckled Loki. He shot Selvig a knowing stare.

Selvig nodded and activated a lever, activating the contraption holding the Tesseract. The machine whirred to life and the Tesseract emanated its blue glow.

"Shit!" growled Tony. "Hammer that!" he shouted at Thor.

Loki found this all too enjoyable and chuckled loudly, especially after Thor grabbed his hammer to throw at the Tesseract, only to have a force field reject it. "Try stopping me now!"

Thor grabbed him by the collar. "Loki!" he growled.

A blue flash of light shot upwards into the sky and opened up a hole in the sky.

Tony ran back up a platform and was instantly suited up, ready for battle.

From the sky, armoured creatures began flying out by the dozens.

"Marvelous, isn't it?" mused Loki. He shoved Thor off of him and went to Natasha's side. "What say we make this world ours?"

"What are those?" she asked him, staring up into the sky.

"The Chitauri," he explained. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Thor staring dumbly at the sky. "They're here to help me."

"You don't have to be this way." She stared into his eyes and placed a hand on his arm. "You're better than this, Loki."

"If you'd rather not join me, then we must be enemies, Ms. Romanoff."

"What's wrong with being the good guy? I know how you feel, Loki-you're in pain, you're hurt!" She tightened her grip on his arm. "Stay with me. Fight this loneliness, Loki. I'm here." She wrapped her arms around him and held him against her. "I love you. Before, I saw us together-the good guys—"

"I'll tell you a piece of truth, Ms. Romanoff," he whispered into her ear. "That Tesseract I showed you was a fake. _I_ conjured up those visions you saw."

Natasha looked up and suddenly shoved him away. "What?"

"You have so much to offer. What better way to convince you to join me?"

Her gaze hardened as she glared at him.

Loki outstretched his hand and Barton handed him an exact replica of the Tesseract. "_This_ is what you saw. Everything you saw was a lie. I've made a fool of you, it would seem," he mused.

Her mouth fell open. She tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked from the blue cube to those devious green eyes.

"You _are_ a beautiful creature," he admitted. "This is true. The rest, well," he chuckled, "_lies_."

Her knees felt weak and she sank to the ground. "Is this how low you have to fall?"

He stared down at her groveling figure, a rather pathetic sight, but amusing, nonetheless.

"Stop lying to yourself." She stared up at him with a tear-streamed face. "Admit that you're hurting- you're all alone and you need someone!" She rose to her feet and embraced him. "You made me see those things for a reason, didn't you? You did it so I would love you… I'll stay with you, Loki," she promised. "Just stop hurting yourself."

"Enough!" Sick of her pleading, he grabbed her by the neck. "You don't know how I feel!" he snapped. "You don't know what I feel inside-stop acting like you know everything about me!"

There in his eyes, she could see the evident traces of pain and sadness.

"I'm going to rule this world! I'll rule it and prove to my Father that I'm much more fit to rule than _Thor!_" he spat. His grip tightened around her neck as his hand shook from the rage.

"This is good," she whispered to him. "Let it out…"

His eye twitched. He couldn't take any more of her know-it-all attitude. Furious, he lifted her up and readied himself to throw her over the side of the building. "_I _deserve to be king! To rule! Not _Thor!_" he hissed.

"Loki, put her down!" Thor ordered.

Loki regained his composure and turned to his brother. "Choose your words carefully, now. If I let her fall… Well, it's all over," he coolly informed him.

Iron Man suddenly grabbed Natasha and flew away, just as Thor threw his Mjolner at Loki, sending him over the edge falling at a dangerously fast speed.

"LOKI!" she cried. "Put me down-_save _him!" Natasha shouted at Tony.

"He tried to kill you!" he shouted. "You're insane!"

"Goddammit, Tony, you save him!"

"He'll handle the fall… We've got bigger things to handle," he reminded her as a Chitauri on a flying board soared past them. "These guys first."


	8. Chapter 8

Loki swerved around while still in mid air and grabbed the hammer's handle. It smashed into the ground and flipped Loki over upon impact. As he rose to his feet, he heard something whooshing toward him and turned around to see Captain America's shield coming towards him. He managed to dodge it, but the shield came back at him and hit him square in the back, sending him forward into the ground.

"Better watch your back!" Steve taunted.

Loki glared up at him and staggered to his feet, holding the Captain's shield. He angrily threw it towards him. As Steve outstretched an arm to catch it, Loki charged at him and punched him in the gut.

"Thor's handling Hawkeye now, Cap's with Loki, so it looks like we're fighting these guys," Tony informed Natasha and the Hulk. "Agent Romanoff?"

Natasha was staring off into space, her mind racing over what to do. Maybe she should just give in and join Loki and Barton. After all, her past wasn't the brightest… She should've hated Loki for what he did- he nearly killed her… Yet, his eyes full of sorrow spoke of all the truth in the world. He needed her-someone-to be there for him. Despite the lies, she couldn't help but love him. He needed her to come around.

"Hey, Romanoff!" Iron Man repeated.

"I'm going back." She reached for her gun and took off running.

Loki managed to get several good hits in, however, Steve managed to strike him, as well.

"Let me handle things from here, Captain!" Natasha announced, gun held, poised to shoot. "Stark needs you, now."

Steve nodded and took off, leaving Loki to her.

Loki held his hands up as he turned to face her. "Back to kill me?"

"I should." She lowered her gun. "But I can't." The gun was placed back into her holster. "You need me more than you know."

"You keep insisting that-…" Before he could finish, she had slapped him across the face.

"Just end this," she warned him. "Stop these-these _things_ from destroying everything and you can start over."

"Exactly," he laughed. "This _is_ me starting anew! I'll rule these people-they will be mine."

"Are you this desperate for redemption?" she asked.

"This is the path I choose. I was born to be a King."

She shook her head in disagreement. "You wouldn't be seen as a King here. Not by anyone."

His cold glare fell upon her. Who was she to tell him otherwise? Father always told him that he was _born_ to rule.

"What kind of King uses force to rule? That's just a tyrant."

"These people need someone to put them in their proper place." How could she possibly understand? How could _anybody_ understand?

"Who are you doing this for, Loki?" she asked suddenly. "Is this to prove yourself to your Father? Would he really be pleased with this? Or Thor-he's not happy about any of this!"

His brows knit together as his fists clenched at his side. "I'm doing this for myself!" he shouted.

"To prove to Odin that you exist? He cares about you already…"

"You know _nothing_!" he yelled. His eyes became clouded with tears.

"Fine. Push them away all you want, but don't leave me out…" She wrapped her arms around him soothingly.

He gave in and embraced her tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He lied to her, yet she still came back to him, offering words of encouragement and hope. Even though he wanted to deny it, he truly believed that he would get redemption. To be brothers with Thor, a son to Odin…

"How can we stop this?" asked Natasha quietly.

"I'll need my scepter."

She drew her phone from her pocket. "Commander Fury, I know how to stop this…"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: More of following the movie's storyline. This chapter was kinda rushed through because of that .**

"And where _did_ Loki run off to?" Nick Fury asked as he handed over the scepter.

"Fighting alongside the Chitauri," she easily lied. "We've all lost track, but we're sure he's within the city."

"Find him. And bring him back," he added.

Natasha nodded and ran to Stark Tower as fast as she could. Halfway up the stairs, she was forced to a halt as an arrow came flying at her. Luckily, she jumped forward and avoided it. There was only one person she knew that could handle a bow and arrow with such skill. Turning her head, her fears were correct. Hawkeye was on the floor below, poised with another arrow, ready to shoot. "Clint…"

He fired another arrow at her, but she jumped back and avoided it again.

"What the hell, Barton?" she yelled. "Don't you remember anything?" As she saw him draw another arrow, she jumped down to the floor of Tony's home where Barton was positioned. "Don't make me do this, Clint…" She drew her gun with her free hand and shot at him, only to miss.

The two soon dropped all their weapons as they engaged in close hand-to-hand combat. Hawkeye managed to grab her around the waist, only to have Natasha roll forward with him still latched on. Once she had him pinned, she smashed his face into the floor.

His sunglasses had snapped in half and fell off his face. He stared up at her, blinking in confusion. "Natasha?" he asked weakly.

Before she could smack him, she stopped and looked into those familiar eyes. "Clint?"

"What happened?" he groaned.

"You're back," she breathed.

He winced, suddenly feeling the pain in his skull. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Natasha shoved him back down on the floor and ran for the scepter. "No time!" She ran up the stairs until she reached the top where Loki was standing with Selvig. Breathless, she thrust the scepter at Loki. "Good news- Agent Barton's himself."

"A shame…" Loki grabbed the scepter and stared down at it. "Now, then." He pointed it at Natasha's chest. "You're all mine, little spider."

"Think about what you're doing!" she warned him.

"You and Thor seem to fall for all the same tricks, don't you?" he chuckled.

Before he could try anything, she whipped out her gun and shot him in the side. "So do you…"

He fell to the ground, dropping the gold staff as he clutched his wound.

Natasha snatched it from him and approached the Tesseract with it. "Any clue how this turns off?" she asked Selvig. The man shook his head. She decided to push the pointed end of the staff to the Tesseract. A blue glow erupted and everything went white. The next thing she knew, all the Chitauri creatures were falling dead in their tracks. The void in the sky brought forth a wind that swept all of them away and into the void, which closed once all the aliens were back inside.

"You did it all on your own," Loki said into her ear.

She whirled on him, pointing the scepter to his face.

"How does it make you feel to hold that much power?"

"Not corrupt like you…"

"So you admit I'm corrupt?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Yes," she admitted. "Misguided, mostly."

"We're _still _playing this game?"

"Loki," Iron Man's voice boomed from behind him. "You're under arrest."

"It would seem this is farewell for us." He turned to face the crimson and gold iron suit. "Another cage?"

"The best your Assgard place has to offer," he promised.

His eyes narrowed at the very mention of it all.

"Just so we no longer have to hear any more lies," Tony continued. "You get one of these." He wrapped an iron mouth guard around Loki's place and made sure it locked in place behind his head.

"I will make sure that the Tesseract is kept safe back home," announced Thor. He kept his head turned, unable to bear the sight of seeing his brother being chained up.

Loki's eyes flickered over to Natasha in defeat.

She shook her head. There wasn't anything she could do. He was too far gone for saving, now.

Tony led Loki over to Thor by his handcuffs and they all moved outside.

"Until we meet again, my friends," said Thor, rather sadly.

Loki pitifully stared at Natasha, then looked away as he saw just how hurt she looked. He brought this upon himself… He grabbed one end of the container holding the Tesseract and he and Thor were transported back home to Asgard.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter starts off as a sequel to its previous chapters. Thank you to all my readers w You are very loved!**

**I just realised that it's not putting in the proper spaces between Loki and Natasha's points of view . Sorry for that. It all seems jumbled together now**

Darkness was all Loki knew. He wasn't sure just how long he had been shackled up in the Asgardian prison. There, he lost all track of time. His mouth was still kept in a muzzle and his wrists were shackled and bound behind his back. The shackles were made to insure that all of his powers were restrained. Under Odin's orders, he was to be kept in isolation with visits from the servants to make sure hadn't been trying to pull any tricks.

In the darkness, the only thing he could make out was the golden horned helmet of his. To mock him, Odin had him restrained in his Asgardian costume and allowed for him to keep his helmet on, saying that he could be 'King of his cell.' Loki managed to shake the helmet off of his head in anger. He was furious Odin would humiliate him even further. That and his cell was to be kept heated to add further discomfort.

In the distance, he could hear footsteps nearing. Unlike those of the servants sent to check up on him, these footsteps were much louder. Curious, Loki sat up straighter within the dark confines of his cell. He wondered if it could have been Thor coming to his aid. Or someone that would show him mercy by lowering the temperature.

"We had a deal," a deep voice echoed.

Loki's blood ran cold and his eyes grew wide with worry.

A looming figure clad in blue and gold armour grabbed the bars of his cell.

He sat there, staring up at the purple-faced creature. He was for once grateful for the cell and muzzle. He was protected and being unable to speak showed his defenselessness.

"You made a promise to me," the man growled. He pulled apart the iron bars with ease and allowed himself in.

A rare moment of fear froze Loki's body.

The man grabbed the iron muzzle and ripped it from his face.

Loki's throat was so dry he couldn't even bring himself to scream.

"Tell me, god, why do you fail me?" He grabbed Loki by the collar and shook him.

"You shouldn't underestimate them," he gasped.

"_Who?_" he hissed.

"They call themselves… The Avengers," he breathed.

"Okay, how are those readings, Pepper?" Tony asked from within the Iron Man suit. His picture was displayed on the laptop Pepper had on her lap.

"Looking good," she said into her headset. "Light it up."

Clint tapped Natasha on the shoulder and motioned for Natasha to look ahead to the Stark Tower.

Currently, Pepper, Natasha, Clint, Steve, and Bruce were all aboard one of Tony's yachts, waiting for him to relight the Stark Tower. After six weeks, the city's destruction was on its way to being built anew. Tony made it a priority to have renovations done on Stark Tower, starting with having it made into a place for The Avengers. 'Stark' was apparently too flashy for the others, and after much nagging from the others, he was forced into having just a glowing 'A', which was now alight and ready for business.

Iron Man rose up from the water and landed on deck, where his iron suit was removed. "I personally think 'Stark' would make more sense. I mean, a glowing 'A?' What's that say about us? 'A' for 'assholes?'"

"That's just you," Pepper told him playfully.

While the others were laughing and popping open a bottle of champagne, Natasha had gone to the opposite end of the boat where she leaned against the edge and stared up at the blue, cloudless sky.

"You okay?" Clint asked as he suddenly approached her. He held out a flute of champagne for her.

Her head shook as she held up a hand to decline the drink offer.

"Come on, we're celebrating," he reminded her.

"This boat's killing me," she remarked as she leaned against the railing and folding her arms.

"I didn't know you got seasick."

"Maybe I'm just sick of Stark," she shrugged.

He began to laugh, but then couldn't help but notice the sad look on her face.

"You haven't been yourself since they've left," he noticed.

"Not now, Barton," she warned him.

"That day," he continued, "you were helping him…"

"Not _now!_" she shouted. "Just shut up, Clint!"

He blinked and stared at her, a bit embarrassed.

It wasn't until then that Natasha realized that everything seemed a little too quiet. She turned to see the others staring at her. She shook her head and went into the yacht's cabin area where she sat on the couch to brood.

"What's eating you today?" Tony wondered as he sauntered in.

"Go enjoy your party," she told him tiredly.

"We need you to do that," he reminded her as he finished a glass of champagne.

"I'd prefer to stay here now," she informed him. "I never agreed to come here in the first place."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Leave it to the woman of our group to drag us all down."

"I'll drag _you_ down!" she snapped at him.

He held his free hand out in front of him. "I'm not asking to start any fights here."

"I would prefer to be left alone, if you don't mind."

He continued to strut about the room, pretending to admire the newspaper clippings on Iron Man that were framed to the walls. "You're still hung up about that guy? You know, you always struck me for a bad boy type, but a psycho—"

She abruptly stood up and began to yell at him. "Why is everyone bringing this up? Stay out of this!"

"You seem a bit _overly _fond of him," he noted. "Are Katniss and I the only ones seeing this?" he wondered aloud.

"I felt bad for him. Let it go!" she growled.

"Look," he sighed. "We're part of a team. We need you. And ever since he left, you haven't been yourself."

"Can we talk about this later?" she asked as she sat back down and ran a hand through her short, auburn hair.

"How about joining the party?" he asked her. "We're all friends here."

"I'd rather lie down." After that, Tony finally left her alone, leaving her mind to wander. As usual, she thought about Loki and wondered what happened to him. She had no way of contacting him and surely, he was enduring his punishments back on Asgard. Then there was her physical health to think about. Her body had always been stronger due to her conditioning and she hadn't tried remembering any past memories to give her a reason to feel sick. She laid down on the couch and fell asleep, only to have Clint shake her awake sometime later.

"Natasha," he whispered. "We're back home. Come on." He gently shook her shoulder.

Still half asleep, she followed him back into the 'Avengers Tower'.

"What do we all want for dinner?" Tony asked the group. "We never did get my shawarma, yet. Hey, Sleeping Beauty," he called to Natasha, "what do you want for dinner?"

She rolled her eyes and glared at him, walking off into the direction of her suite within the penthouse.

"Okay, we'll have our fun without you," shrugged Tony. "Guy time, right? Pepper, you gotta leave now," he warned his fiancé.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Reviewers, followers, readers, favouriters, I love you all! :'D**

**I just realised that it's not putting in the proper spaces between Loki and Natasha's points of view . Sorry for that. It all seems jumbled together now**

The next morning, Natasha didn't find herself feeling any better. The nausea was even worse from yesterday's. The majority of her morning was spent in her bathroom, retching, followed by a shower and making herself presentable. After she was dressed in her leather bodysuit, she threw herself back down on her bed. It wasn't until a knock on her door made her finally get up. She answered her door, unfazed at the sight of Clint, clad in his purple and black uniform.

"Ready for training?" he asked. "We can do some target practice."

"Yeah," she agreed. Nothing seemed more appealing than relieving stress with her gun.

"You promised that I would be made a god!" the purple man hissed at Loki.

"The Tesseract is no longer in my possession, Thanos," he reminded him.

"Lies!" Thanos grabbed Loki by the arm and raised him into the air.

Loki clenched his teeth as both of his arms bent back in a most uncomfortable manner.

Thanos threw him to the ground and ripped the shackles away. "Where is it, then, god?"

Loki felt relieved to have his arms freed and rubbed his sore wrists. "I'm sure it is being kept under the highest security by Odin himself."

"Then I trust you will give it back to me…"

Loki conjured up a duplicate of himself and turned to Thanos with his signature smirk. "It would be my pleasure."

While Hawkeye was busy firing arrows at moving targets, Natasha fired off bullets, hitting every target. The moving targets came to a sudden halt, signaling that their session was over.

"That was good," he commented as he leaned his bow against the wall.

Natasha finally managed to catch her breath as she lowered her gun. The scent of the smoke lingering in the air brought back the feeling of nausea. She stuffed her gun back into the holster on her thigh and went to take a seat at a bench away from the shooting area.

"Natasha?" Clint approached her with a worried look.

"Shit," she breathed as she buried her hands in her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"I have to go," she quickly told him.

"Natasha!" Before she could go, he grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Let go, Clint!" she growled as she tried to pull her wrist free.

"Was it something I said?" he asked. "Why are you mad at me?"

She shook her head and placed a hand over her mouth as she stomped on his foot with her heel.

He released her and watched as she ran to the bathroom.

"I can keep you hidden, but before we get the Tesseract, I need for you to aid me in getting rid of a… _bodyguard_ to Odin," Loki explained. He had placed an invisibility charm upon Thanos and himself as they prepared to leave the dreary dungeon.

"The Tesseract comes first," he growled.

"Yes," Loki nodded as he stared up at the man, "but keep in mind Odin has guards. If we eliminate them, the Tesseract will come to us more easily."

Thanos glared at him through narrowed eyes. "It's your life on the line," he reminded him.

Loki turned on his heel and led him out of the twisting dark passageway and into the light of the outer reaches of Odin's kingdom. He squinted his eyes upon seeing the sunlight. There was a breeze, which he was more than grateful for after his time in confinement. Still weak, he led Thanos towards the direction of the throne room.

"Tasha? You okay in there?" Clint called from outside the bathroom. There was silence, only worrying him further. "Natasha? I'm coming in!" He threw open the door and saw her sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest. "Are you alright?"

She stared ahead of her at nothing in particular. Her mouth opened to speak, but the words failed her. Her mind was racing and she mentally tried reassuring herself, but her efforts were failing as reality sunk in. It had been just over six weeks since Thor and Loki had left. Just over six weeks since she and Loki had sex. With this in mind, along with her recent and unexplainable nausea, she began to question her body's functioning. "I need to talk to Fury," she weakly managed to say.


	12. Chapter 12

Loki wandered through the all too familiar halls of the place he once called home. First thing was first, he had to pay his darling brother, Thor, a visit. The golden thrones were currently unoccupied. Strange. Loki had taken pride in sitting upon Odin's chair. He turned and began walking, only further irritating Thanos.

"Where are we going now? Is this not where your King should be?"

"The King will be elsewhere," he said as he proceeded to the dining hall. Surely, Thor would be there.

"I needed to talk to you about my conditioning," Natasha began as she sat in front of Nick Fury's desk.

He flipped through a manila envelope. "Your next appointment is in a week. Is there a problem?"

"Do you remember Stefanya Melankova?"

"Is there a reason you choose to bring up a fallen agent?"

"It doesn't necessarily concern her death." She hesitated. "Though, at the time, she happened to be pregnant." She looked Fury in the eye, wondering if he could see where she was leading him. "My body… it's not possible to have children."

He shook his head. "It's too late for this sort of change, Agent Romanoff. I understand what had been done to you in the past can't be reversed."

"That's my point. It's not impossible, though."

"Agent Romanoff…" he continued, looking a bit irritated.

"Commander Fury, I'm going to have to temporarily resign." She stood up and stared at him.

"My best agent…" he growled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you trying to tell what I _think_ you're trying to tell me?"

"I had Dr. Banner confirm it."

"May I ask if another one of my agents is involved in this… union?" he wondered. He already had his guess and it involved an assassin skilled with a bow and arrow.

"No," she began. "And I'd like to be the one to let the others know. I apologize for the inconvenience." Before could he say anything else, she quickly left.

"Why the sudden need to talk?" Tony wondered as he poured himself a drink.

Natasha sat on the couch, avoiding eye contact with him. "I need you to contact Thor."

Tony strolled over to accompany her on the couch. "You know he can't just keep popping back here. Tell you what? I'll send a carrier pigeon to him with letters that teach him to use his phone. He never has that thing on!" he rambled. "Must be the reception there…"

She clenched her fists on her lap. "This isn't the time for jokes. It's an emergency."

He raised a brow as he swigged down the contents of his glass. "Nothing we, here, can't handle."

"No. This concerns me," she stated.

"And the big guy?" he prodded.

"I need to talk to Loki," she said, looking him in the eyes.

"Again with that guy?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Bring this up with Fury. I don't want to be responsible."

"I'm pregnant," she suddenly blurted out.

Tony stared at her, wide-eyed. "Yeah, I'm gonna need that second drink." He got up and went to the bar to fix himself something strong. "And so the dad is Mr. Crazy-god? Can you tell me how this happened? No, don't-I know how, but _why?_"

She buried her face in her hands. "I can't believe I'm having a baby," she breathed. It was all still sinking in.

"I can't believe you slept with Thundergod's brother. Was he crazy in bed?" he prodded. "I actually don't think I need to know that…"

"Goddammit, Tony!" she snapped. "Can you _please_ be serious? I need to talk to Loki- we're having a baby!" Saying it aloud just made it sound so wrong.

"Did Banner verify this?"

"Why would I lie about this!?" she exclaimed.

"It sounds like a joke," he began with a smile. "Sorry," he quickly added. "Come on," he told her. "We're going to contact Thor."


	13. Chapter 13

Even the dining halls were empty. Loki had to act quickly, seeing that his newest companion wasn't fond of this game of cat and mouse. "The Tesseract," he began, "I have an idea of where it's hidden." He changed direction and proceeded towards Odin's chambers. Two guards stood stationed before the golden doors. Before Loki gave any orders, Thanos charged towards them and easily knocked the unsuspecting guards aside. Loki raised a brow and smiled, pleased with the simplicity of it all. Thanos nearly tore the doors off their hinges as he forced his way inside.

"Who goes there!" Odin yelled. All he could see were his bedroom doors flying open.

"The Tesseract," Loki whispered to Thanos.

"Give me the Tesseract!" Thanos ordered in his deep and commanding voice.

"I have no such thing in my possession!" he replied. "Show yourself!"

Thanos whirled on Loki, ready to attack.

"He lies!" he hissed. "He has it!"

"Bring me the Tesseract or I kill everyone within your realm!" proclaimed Thanos.

Odin's eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid it is in my son's possession on Midgard. For threatening my people, you shall die!" He summoned his weapon and prepared to strike the invisible creature.

Thor had it. He used it to go to Midgard? _Thor_… Loki became livid and in his anger, he undid his spell that kept Thanos hidden and quickly ran off. He had to get to Midgard. Or wait until the second Thor returned. He left the palace and crossed the repaired Rainbow Bridge halfway and stopped. There was a loud boom off in the distance, followed by Thanos's roar.

"The Tesseract is not the only thing I am here for! The Infinity Gauntlet!" Thanos shouted.

"An emergency, you say?" Thor asked Tony upon his arrival.

Tony was glad that his computer had managed to signal Thor via the Tesseract, however, now wasn't the time to be happy. He took the Tesseract from Thor and set it on a spare shelf.

"Thor…" Natasha stared up at the blonde. "I'm pregnant."

He stared at her, then a grin spread across his face. "Is this the emergency? It is wonderful news, though, my lady."

"No, Thor." She shook her head. "Loki's the father."

His smile faded and his expression became unreadable.

"How about shawarma? You hungry, big guy? Let's get that shawarma we agreed on."

Thor nodded, not wanting to turn down a Midgardian meal. He still appeared to be in a state of shock at the news, though.

Tony had contacted the rest of the Avengers and they all met up at the Shawarma restaurant Tony had been so eager to try out. "Family dinner night, you guys. You like this idea?" he asked as they all gathered at a table.

"We're not a family," Natasha reminded him.

"Some of us are closer here than others. I think we're on our way to becoming a family." He winked at her.

Natasha grabbed the knife that had been placed before her and held it between her fingers.

"It's the thought that counts," Steve interjected with a smile.

"How about drinks? What do all my men want?" asked Tony.

"Ground bean liquid!" said Thor, finally.

"Right, coffee for the big guy. How many of us are here tonight, six?" He looked to Natasha. "Seven?"

She beat her fist against the table. "Alright, before I'm further humiliated by your jokes, I'm pregnant," she announced to the table. Everyone had fallen silent. Tony opened his mouth to speak, but she shot him a cold look, making him leave to talk to the waiter.

Clint simply stared at her, confused.

"Congratulations," said Banner quietly from the end of the table.

"I wasn't aware you were married. Congratulations to you and your husband," said Steve.

Thor's eyes widened. "This makes you my Brother's bride? Your culture is very different from ours."

Natasha covered her face with her hand as Steve, Bruce, and Clint stared at her, equally shocked.

There was an uncomfortable silence at the table when Tony returned to sit. For once, he decided to join in with them and keep quiet. The group ate their meal in awkward silence.


	14. Chapter 14

Loki ran across the Rainbow Bridge, leaving the angered Thanos to take care of Odin. Still invisible, me made it past Heimdall and transported himself to Midgard. He soon found himself in a somewhat familiar setting. His eyes scanned the new surroundings-definitely Midgard. He happened to notice framed pictures of Iron Man and Tony Stark around the room and his smile widened. His eyes soon fixed themselves upon the glowing Tesseract and he grabbed it. There was no way he was to return to Asgard-not with Thanos causing chaos. Asgard was doomed to fall. Odin will die, and Thor will be so full of regret. Thanos could have Asgard- Midgard was a far more suitable place for Loki to rule over, anyways.

"I think that this could be a good thing," began Natasha.

"Another evil born into this world?" questioned Banner.

Tony finished another glass of wine. "Would you kill your own kid if he takes after daddy?"

"No!" she cried. "Listen to me-this is for his own good, just hear me out- he's alone, he's been betrayed!" she began. "He doesn't know what a real family is, but me-this baby-_we're_ his family. This could change him!" she protested.

"You seem to put a lot of faith in him. Do you really think it's getting to him?" asked Steve.

Thor folded his arms across his chest and stared at her. "This could turn him around for the better. My Brother deserves this."

"He needs to be here…" she continued. "I want our child to know his father."

"Loki has never known the love of a real Father and Mother," Thor continued.

"So we think this will get rid of the daddy issues?" asked Tony.

"I will ask my Father to let me speak with Loki. He is still imprisoned for his wrongdoings."

Natasha lowered her head upon hearing this. "I want to see him… to tell him."

"Careful what you wish for," said Tony as he pulled his phone out. After staring at the screen for a minute, he outstretched his arm to show Natasha. On screen was a video of Loki appearing and taking the Tesseract. "Security breach. He's here."

"How did he escape Asgard?" questioned Thor.

"You can ask him yourself. Let's move!" Tony ordered. "Can I get a lockdown on all entryways, Jarvis?" he asked into his phone.

Natasha followed Tony and Thor to his car, while the others split up.

Before Loki could leave Tony's workroom, the lights abruptly went out and the door locked itself shut. He pulled the handle, then kicked the door. His golden scepter appeared in his free hand, which he used to blast straight through the door. An alarm blared throughout the building and Loki broke out into a sprint, readying himself to escape. The next door to stand in his way was destroyed just as easily as the first. At this point, a laser locked itself on Loki and fired a shot. Loki used his scepter to create a force field. Shots continued to fire at him, forcing him to remain in place while he maintained his barricade. He was trapped inside of this place. Leave it to his enemies to create an array of challenging cages in which to contain him.

The firing soon ceased as the sounds of footsteps drew near. "Having fun?" Tony Stark asked Loki.

Loki stared at him as his force field diminished.

"We're gonna have to add even more damages to your tab, now aren't we?"

"Loki!" growled Thor. "How did you escape?"

Loki smirked at him. "You should be thankful I'm _alive_. I came to warn you-Asgard is in danger. As we speak, Odin is facing a most difficult battle."

Thor stared at him in disbelief. "I have not been gone long. Do not lie to me, Loki!" he growled.

"You leave and all Hel breaks loose."

"And by 'Hel', you're referring to yourself," Tony chided.

Loki slyly grinned as he shook his head. "I'm afraid the danger is far greater than myself. I only came here to save my own life."

"You've been chained and locked away! How did you manage to escape?" Thor questioned.

"I was freed by the creature. He demanded answers from me and set me free." His eyes fell upon Natasha. "I owe him a debt."

The familiar words shocked Natasha for a moment. "You 'owe' him? So he let you go and you let him destroy Asgard?"

He shook his head. "I am afraid he wants me dead."

"You really know how to piss people off, don't you?" Tony commented.

"I shall go to Asgard myself and save Father!" declared Thor.

"It's far too dangerous to go alone, Thor!" Loki warned him. "I barely escaped, myself." Thankfully, his dirt-covered clothing and the scratches and dried blood on his face from while he was locked up served as a decent compensation for his lies.

"We've got our team," Tony said, staring back at Bruce, Steve, and Clint. "Natasha, you're on babysitting duty," he informed her. "No pun intended," he whispered to her as he turned on his heel.

"I will join you," announced Loki. "You will be in need of my assistance."

"Our team can take on this guy easily enough," Tony assured him.

"Did it not require the lot of you just to stop _me_?" he slyly reminded him.

"Fine. Natasha, you stay here," said Tony. "We can use him as bait."

Loki frowned at the idea, but was in agreement, nonetheless.

"No! Loki, you stay right here!" Natasha warned him. "You shouldn't underestimate them." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, but I do." His hand reached out to touch her neck. "They're as good as dead!" he growled. "Thanos's power will surpass and kill them. He won't hesitate to show any more mercy than what I am showing you now."

As the pressure of his fingers snaked around her windpipe, the back of Natasha's hand swiftly smacked his arm away from her. "Don't do this, Loki," she warned him.

"He has power to kill you so easily. Unlike myself, he won't refrain himself from snapping your neck."

She stared into those familiar green orbs. The sound of his sickeningly sweet voice aroused a sense of fear within her. This man was still as dangerous as ever, yet she kept coming back to him. "They're leaving me behind for a reason," she told him coolly, staring up at him from beneath her long lashes.

He raised a brow as he noticed the look of resolve in her emerald eyes. She was such a devious wench, so conniving and much like himself. Perhaps that was why the trickster found himself so drawn. Her charm was like a drug to him. His fingers began to absently toy with a strand of her red hair. "And why is that?"

"Because you're going to be a father," she composedly informed him.

At this point, Loki's hand froze and his brows knit together in confusion. For once in his life, Loki found himself at a loss for the words that came so easily. He looked from her, then to Tony.

"Let us go, then," said Thor.

Loki turned on his heel to follow after them, only to stop as Natasha grabbed his arm.

"So you're just going to leave without saying anything to me?" she asked.

"I know not how to reply in this situation."

"Can you two finish this later? We're on the clock," Tony reminded them.

"I'm going with you," she announced.

"I thought you were planning on taking time off," noted Tony.

She shook her head. "I'm going with you. I can't let you go off if there's a chance you won't come back."

"Stay here," said Loki quietly. "You'll only be a hindrance in our battle."

"You better come back," she warned him. She couldn't help but feel hurt by his remark. Being a burden to the team only upset her.

"I have no intentions of dying," he assured her. His hand briefly touched hers before he turned to leave.

The six of them used the Tesseract to transport themselves to Asgard. Thor led the charge towards the castle where his Father was.

"Thor!" Loki growled. "This is no time to act out so foolishly!"

"The enemy is attacking our Father!" he reminded him.

Loki suddenly grabbed Thor's arm. "Do you not recall the time in Jotunheim-you were _banished_ for your rash actions!"

"Father is in danger!" he shouted. He pulled his arm away and ran into the throne room.

Tony followed in his Iron Man suit, Steve readied his shield, and Clint drew an arrow. Bruce, however, stood beside Loki, watching the others run off.

"Do you not wish to join them?" Loki asked. "I honestly believe you to be the one with the greatest strength."

"I'd rather not have the other guy…_destroy_ everything," he nervously began as he rubbed his hands together. He began to look around in awe of the fantastical surroundings. "This place is all too fantastic! It's unreal!"

Loki couldn't help but chuckle at the man's childish wonder. "You're willing to leave behind your friends all for the sake of feeding your naïve curiosity?"

"I already said," Banner continued as he fixed his attention on Loki, "I don't want to destroy anything."

"Be my guest. Destroy everything if it pleases you," he smirked.

Banner shook his head in reply. "I'd rather not have to do that. Besides, I've got to guard this," he added as he held onto the Tesseract.

"Feel free to explore," continued Loki. "I'd like to see how Thor fares in this battle." He tightened his grip around his scepter as he began to walk down the pathway to his former home.

"I know it's odd to say, but be careful," said Bruce with an anxious smile. "You know-for Natasha's sake."

Loki replied with a grin, then walked away.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Battle scenes are so awkward to write . Thanks again to all those who are following/reading/and reviewing! x3**

"Father!" Thor shouted as he followed the sounds of crashing that came from his Father and Mother's chamber room.

"Give me what rightfully belongs to me!" Thanos hissed as he held onto the cuff of Odin's armor. "The gauntlet."

"Father!" Thor now stood in the doorway in fury. The moment his eyes locked upon Thanos, he threw his hammer at him, sending both he and Odin to the ground.

"Thor!" Odin staggered up and away from Thanos who was pinned down by Mjolnir.

"You are not badly injured, I hope," Thor said to him.

"No, my son. I am well," said the All-Father.

"The son," Thanos growled. "He who has the Tesseract!"

"What need do you have for it?" Thor questioned.

"It is rightfully mine, as promised to me. The same goes for my gauntlet which your Father holds in his possession."

Thor's eyes narrowed. "The one who promised you the Tesseract-did he call himself Loki?"

"The prisoner, yes," he replied.

Thor grabbed his hammer off of the beast's body, then swung down to cause injury.

Thanos quickly recovered and began to strike at Thor.

Iron Man, Captain America, and Hawkeye joined in to help their comrade as Thor showed signs of struggle to keep up with Thanos's attacks.

Loki made his entrance in time to see the four fighting against the enemy.

"Loki, what have you done?" Odin asked as he approached him.

"I have made a mistake in the past that my time in confinement has led me to regret."

"How did you escape? You know I fail to trust you!" spat Odin.

Loki gave him a pained expression. "I have come to my senses, Father," he explained. "I have seen my wrongdoings and I intend to help my Brother fight."

The old man shook his head. "Even now, you tell me nothing but lies."

Loki lowered his eyes in resentment as he brushed past Odin. "I speak the truth. I shall help my Brother and his friends fight this enemy. Maybe then, you will believe me." He turned his head to stare at him with sad eyes. "Even if you choose to deem me a liar, then I shall choose to fight for my child and those who _do_ believe in me." He ran towards Thanos and struck him with his scepter.

"You dare strike me?!" Thanos snapped.

"You and I are enemies," Loki reminded him.

"Then you shall pay for your lies with death!" He prepared to throw a punch in his direction, but Loki evaded.

"You are outnumbered five to one! Admit your defeat!" Loki yelled.

"Five? We should have six," noted Iron Man. "Where's our jolly green giant at?"

"He waits with the Tesseract, does he not?" asked Thor.

This caught Thanos's attention and he sprinted past the group.

"Fool!" Loki breathed as he glared at Thor. His brother never was the brightest.

Steve threw his shield and hit Thanos in the back, bringing him down.

"Someone warn Banner!" Tony ordered. He turned in Loki's direction.

"No-let me finish him!" he growled. "This is my responsibility- just go to Midgard!" he said to Thor. "All of you."

"I will not abandon you!" bellowed Thor.

"Go! This is _my_ battle!"

Thor stared at his brother with a grim expression, then brought Mjolnir into his hand. "Let us leave!" Thor ran off, followed by the others.

Loki cast a spell on Thanos to restrict any movement.

Odin watched from a distance, wondering what to believe of Loki's choices. Was he really changing? And what did he mean by mentioning a child?

Thanos broke free of the spell and shoved Loki to the ground.

Thor whirled around at the sound of his fallen brother's screams. "Go without me! I must help my Brother!" He ran to Thanos and swung Mjolnir down on his back.

"This is my battle-go, Thor!" hissed Loki as he attempted to pry himself out from under Thanos.

"You need my help!"

"I require _nothing_ from you!" He tightly grasped his scepter and thrust it towards Thanos's chest.

In a split second, Thanos rolled away from the danger and began to chortle upon hearing a scream.

"Thor!" Odin gasped.

Loki's eyes grew wide as he realized what had just happened. Instead of striking the enemy, he had impaled his own Brother through the heart. "Th—"

Thor's limp form fell against Loki's body.

Panic struck Loki's body and his vision blurred with hot tears.

Odin suddenly turned on Thanos. "Look what you have done!"

"Thor…" Loki pulled the scepter from his Brother's body and threw it into the pool of blood around them. "Now is no time to rest, Brother," he whispered. "Open your eyes."

"Can you not see he is dead? You have slain him!" Thanos taunted.

Loki brought Thor's body close to his in a tight embrace. A choked sob escaped his throat, followed by a piercing scream.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I hope all you guys are enjoying w It really makes me happy to know that you guys are reading/faving/following/and reviewing 3**

Tony and the others heard the scream and immediately ran towards the chamber room. Bruce had suddenly lost control and transformed. He ran after his team, dropping the Tesseract in the rush of it all.

"You will leave my kingdom and return to your home at once!" Odin ordered Thanos.

"Not until I get back what is mine."

Odin turned to stare at Thor's lifeless body. Filled with despair, he went off and returned moments later with Thanos' golden gauntlet. "Leave us," said the All-Father. Desperate and grieving for his son's loss, he handed off the gauntlet, which Thanos gladly welcomed back into possession.

The group of four Avengers stared in shock at the sight of their fallen member. The Hulk quickly returned back into his normal self and dropped to Thor's side, ignoring the fact that all he was wearing were his shredded and outstretched pants. His hand reached out to feel for a pulse. "Loki, please let him go," he told him calmly. "I'm a doctor…"

Steve grabbed Loki by the shoulder and helped him to his feet.

"My magic… It fails to heal him," said Loki helplessly.

Odin approached Loki from behind. "You meant no harm to your Brother."

The black-haired man clenched his fists. "This was all my fault…"

"An accident," Odin assured him.

"Is it?" hissed Loki, whirling around to face Odin. "Was all of this a mere accident?!" he shouted, eyes clouded with tears.

Odin placed a hand on Loki's shoulder. "You love Thor dearly… I see the truth within your eyes."

"I _killed _him!" he snapped. "Your son is dead on my behalf!" The tears fell from his eyes.

Odin lowered his head to stare at Thor's limp form.

"But is this not what I am? A monster?!"

Odin glared at Loki. "Return to Midgard!" he proclaimed. "I shan't have you present if this is how you choose to speak! You are of no use here!"

"I think we should all go," Bruce interrupted. "Maybe something in the lab can help…" His eyes widened with a sudden realization. "The Tesseract… Shit," he muttered, turning his head towards the entrance, forcing the others to turn, as well. "Someone stop Thanos!"

"I'm on it!" Iron Man took off, however, Thanos was nowhere in sight. He soon returned to the others. "Gone."

"To where? Back home?" wondered Steve.

"Most likely, I presume," Loki said quietly. A pang of fear overcame him as he remembered something important. Natasha. "We must go back quickly! He'll be transported back to your palace and Natasha is alone."

Bruce forced himself to transform back into the Hulk, allowing him to easily carry Thor's body. He began to run towards the exit, followed by Clint, Tony, and Steve.

"Loki," said Odin quickly. "Have hope for your Brother."

Loki turned away to run towards the others. The group made their way down the Bifrost to meet with the gatekeeper.

"They're still gone. Have you been able to get a signal on them?" Natasha asked as she stared at the video image of Nick Fury through a laptop.

"No signals as of yet."

"Not even the tracker on Stark?"

"No response," he replied with a serious tone.

She brought a hand to her lips as her eyes lowered.

"Keep yourself busy for the time being," he suggested. "It's all of them against this 'Thanos' character."

"Have you found anything on that guy?" she asked.

"I take it you've been searching for answers?"

"Isn't that the only thing I'm good for now?" she wondered, rolling her eyes.

"You're still my best agent," he assured her. "I'll contact you when I receive any news." The image disappeared and the screen went black.

Natasha decided to try again to get a signal on Tony's tracking device that had been installed-without Tony's consent- in his Iron Man suit. Nothing. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. Stressing over her teammates wasn't going to get her anywhere at the moment. Fury was right- it was all of them against one enemy. She fell back into the couch and stared up at the ceiling.

A crash from Tony's lab several floors down snapped her back to reality. As if a reflex, she sprang forward and grabbed her gun from the glass coffee table. Something wasn't right. She could only hear one set of footsteps. An alarm began to sound and she hurried downstairs. It certainly wasn't Tony. Perhaps Loki, then? There was another crash and the glass walls of Tony's workspace shattered right before her eyes. Quickly, she shielded herself by running away. Footsteps came towards her and she turned to face the stranger.

"This is Earth, I presume?" Thanos asked her.

Natasha raised her gun at the man who was just over a foot taller than her. "Don't move," she warned him. "You're 'Thanos,' I take it?" Her eyes happened to catch sight of the Tesseract and her chest tightened. "Drop the box right now and you might live," she threatened.

"As if one of your mere weapons could harm me!"

"What happened to the others?" she asked. "Those sent to fight on Asgard?"

He began to laugh. "They left this behind while rushing to save their fallen friend." He lifted up the Tesseract.

"Fallen?" Her body tensed up at the mentioning.


	17. Chapter 17

"Your friends, I presume?" he questioned. "The one called Loki tried to kill me, only to kill his brother, instead."

She was relieved in knowing Loki was alive, but she still couldn't believe that Thor was dead… She fired off several shots at Thanos, all of which didn't seem to affect him.

"I told you already!" Without giving any warning, he grabbed her throat and threw her to the ground.

Natasha dropped her gun and landed on her back, only to flip back up and leap at him. She front flipped and used her special bracelets to release a wire, which snagged around Thanos's neck.

The enemy began to gag and he backed up into a wall, hoping to smash her.

Before she could be crushed, Natasha kicked out and pressed the soles of her boots against the wall.

Thanos grabbed hold of her forearms with his large hands, ready to snap them.

Tightly grasping the wire between her fingers, she pushed forward and forced the back of Thanos' head into the wall and slid out from between his legs the moment he released her. Again, she used one of her bracelets and fired at Thanos. Her Widow's Sting attack forced his body to convulse at the high voltage of the attack. She kept her distance, watching his still body as she attempted to catch her breath. She pulled her phone from her pocket. "Commander Fury, I have the enemy. Currently knocked out…"

"I'll be right over," he responded.

She fired another shot at him for safe measure before she slumped onto the floor and leaned against a table in Tony's lab. It was then that she noticed her body shaking. The noise from her team returning forced her to turn around.

"Jarvis, I need you to get Banner's medical supplies," Tony ordered.

"Loki!" His name was the first to escape Natasha's lips.

Loki stared at her, relieved to know she was alright. However, the loss of his Brother left him broken. He found himself going straight towards her and wrapped his arms around her.

Clint couldn't help but be first to notice Thanos knocked out on the ground nearby. "So he came here first?"

Tony went over to retrieve the Tesseract and locked it up in a safe.

"Fury's on his way over," she announced.

Clint noticed the visible red marks around her neck. "You're hurt."

"Wait-you took this guy down?" asked Tony.

"Apparently, the six of you couldn't do what I did…" Her eyes fell upon Thor's body that the Hulk laid out on a table. "What happened?"

"The battle was short lived," said Tony.

Loki only held her tighter. "I killed him," he whispered. He could feel her body tense and her heart beat faster.

Natasha saw Steve shake his head. "Let's go somewhere else," she told Loki quietly. She led him to the nearest couch and sat down with him.

"I never meant him any harm…"

"I know you didn't," she said as she put an arm around him. "But Dr. Banner will help him. He'll be okay—"

"He's _dead_!" he shouted, slapping her hand away.

"He could still be alive-…" She stopped upon seeing his eyes filled with rage.

"I killed him. My Brother is no longer," he growled through clenched teeth.

"An accident," she said.

He bowed his head and clenched his fists in his lap. She was beginning to sound like Odin.

Natasha pulled his head against her chest. "It's okay," she whispered.

A choked sob escaped his throat and he found himself weeping like a child. Funny how as a youth, he wished death upon Thor many a times. Now that he had his wish, he had never felt so lost, so broken. His hands held her tightly, holding her close to him as if she, too, would vanish if he let go.

Natasha peered over Loki's shoulder to see Bruce standing before him, hanging his head.

"Loki," he quietly began.

She shook her head and found herself crying not only over her fallen comrade, but for Loki's bitter suffering.


	18. Chapter 18

Nick Fury made his appearance soon after. He glanced over in Natasha's direction and his eyes met with hers, summoning her over.

"I'll be right back," she told Loki. She rose, only to have him hold her hand in an effort to keep her. Her hand slipped out of his grasp and she joined the others, now gathered together over Thanos's unconscious form.

"I'll have him locked up and keep my eye on him at all times," Fury began.

"Better do it quickly. I'm not sure how much longer he'll be out for," Natasha added.

"Or kill him now," said Loki, appearing from behind her.

"Not until we find out what more he wants. He has an army of his own, doesn't he?" Fury glared at Loki.

"He spoke not a word of that to me."

"Let's take him away now, then," suggested Tony.

Loki clenched his fists at his side.

"You can talk revenge later," Fury warned Loki. "Until then, let's keep the fighting at a minimum. We've all lost a member of the team. One of our strongest agents," he added. "I'm sorry, Loki," he said before turning away and making his exit.

"Some help here?" Tony asked as he grabbed Thanos by an arm.

Steve and Clint went over to help him, leaving Loki, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor's body alone.

Loki went over to the table where his Brother lay. He heard Natasha take a step towards him, but kept his back to her. "I would like to be alone…"

"Alright…"

"Natasha," began Bruce. "Clint said you were hurt?..."

She flexed a hand, feeling no pain. She was sure, though, that under her jacket were marks to prove something.

His eyes fell upon the fading red mark at her neck. He reached out a steady hand to touch her, but she stepped away.

"I'm fine."

"You have someone else to think about, Natasha," he gently reminded her.

She lowered her eyes as a hand traced along her lower abdomen. This habit of her taking action was going to be a hard one to break. True, she had to think about her child, but since she was young, she had grown so accustomed to a life of fighting and reckless acts. "It's all still sinking in, I guess."

"Old habits," he said. "Just take it easy," he told her with an assuring smile.

She nodded, knowing full well that her body was already recognizing her child as foreign object, if not for the special medications to keep it alive. She feared that any more of her role as the Black Widow would cause her to lose it. She stared in Loki's direction, knowing that he couldn't take another loss.

Loki reached a hand out to touch Thor's face. It frightened him to feel the cool stiffness of his flesh. He placed both hands above Thor's heart where he had been stabbed and used everything his powers to revive his Brother, only to find his efforts were useless. Wallowing in his failed efforts, he sank to the floor and bit his lip to stop from crying out. He felt Natasha's arms encircle his neck and he reached up to touch her hand.


	19. Chapter 19

"You should rest, Loki," Natasha quietly told him.

"I can't sleep," he said under his breath.

She sighed and knelt down at his side. "Look, Loki," she began, holding his hand in her own. "I'm sorry-we all are… But there's nothing that can be done."

He turned to bury his head against her shoulder. "Is it wrong that a part of me is glad to see him dead?" he wondered aloud.

"You're just angry." Her fingers ran through his black hair.

"Odin said it was an accident, you know," he continued.

"Because it was," she assured him.

"He wasn't angry. I killed his beloved son and…" he paused, "he didn't place the blame upon me."

She stared at him sadly. "It's because he cares about you, Loki. You're his son, too."

His arms wrapped around her tightly in an embrace. "Don't leave me," he breathed. Hot tears fell from his eyes and onto her jacket.

A small smile formed on her face as she stroked his hair. "I'm right here, Loki," she promised. "Come on, you should get cleaned up and we can rest."

He nodded and rose to his feet.

The two went up to Natasha's suite in the penthouse and took a cold shower together. Natasha was glad that he was out of his blood-stained clothes and cleansing himself of the dried blood that lingered on his pale skin.

As Natasha reached out to scrub away a patch of blood near his neck, he noticed the subtle bruises on her wrist. It wasn't just the one-both wrists had the same fading marks, along with her neck. "He did this to you…" His fingers gingerly touched the side of her neck. "He tried to kill you…" The rage in his voice was returning.

"No-Loki, I'm fine!" she assured him. "It's nothing."

His brows knitted together and his green eyes flickered with anger. "Don't talk like that! What if he killed you!?" he shouted. "You and the child- how would I have lived with myself?"

"Loki," she said calmly, "I'm okay. I took him down, remember?"

"Your blood would have been on my hands!" he snapped.

"Loki-…"

"It really would have been my fault!"

"Loki!" Before he could say another word, she swiftly smacked him across the cheek.

A pained expression formed on his face. He bowed his head, suddenly quiet.

She pursed her lips, worried that her actions her too harsh. "I'm sorry…But really, Loki, I'm okay. I'm right here with you. Don't worry anymore…" She placed a hand upon his slightly red cheek and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

They cleaned up, then went to bed. Natasha cuddled up against Loki, who was having a hard time drifting off to sleep. When he did finally manage to sleep, he dreamt of a past memory of Odin telling younger versions of he and Thor about the Infinity Gauntlet.

_"He who wields the gauntlet will have absolute power," Odin had once said._

_"Then why must it be kept locked up?" asked a young Loki, eyes wide with curiosity._

_"Because, my son, this much power is dangerous to wield," he warned the children. "Who so wields the gauntlet has the potential to destroy all of humanity. The Universe's future will be in their hands. It is a truly dangerous artifact, which is why it is to be kept locked up. It's potential shan't be underestimated…"_

Loki woke with a start in a cold sweat. The Infinity Gauntlet… Maybe there was still hope in bringing his Brother back, after all…


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers, followers, readers, everyone! w 3**

Loki walked towards the door of the dark bedroom dressed in his newly-cleaned black and green attire. He had used his magic to clean them of all the blood. As his hand turned the handle, he was stopped by Natasha who had awoken at the sound.

"Where are you going?" Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she joined him by the door.

"I dreamt of a memory," he explained. "Odin once told me about the Infinity Gauntlet."

She kept her eyes fixed on his face as he talked.

"I believe it can possibly bring back Thor." He stared down at her with a grave expression.

"But what is it?"

"It is in Thanos's possession," he continued. "Odin returned it to him yesterday… The gauntlet harnesses the power to wipe out everything in existence."

Natasha wanted to complain about him failing to tell them about this earlier, but he had been through so much already. "We have to warn the others." She went to her dresser and quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt.

"He is locked up, is he not?"

"In the same place you were," she told him as she slipped on her wrist blasters and grabbed her gun.

"He was stripped of his armor, I hope," he added.

"If he escaped, we would've known by now. Don't worry," she assured him. The time on her phone read 2:37 AM. She didn't think that any of the other Avengers would be up at this hour. She led Loki out of her suite and down to the parking garage level. The two got into her car and she drove off to the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.

Natasha swiped her ID at the door and the two were allowed in. The security guards were wary upon seeing Loki with her, but she assured them that he meant no harm. A guard escorted them up to the floor where Thanos was being kept in confinement.

"I need to see any possessions of his," Natasha told the guard as he opened the door for them.

"Commander Fury has them locked up in his care," he informed her.

She turned to glance at Loki, then to the guard. "We can handle the rest from here." She walked down a hall with Loki at her side until they reached a familiar glass cage that held its latest prisoner.

Thanos turned his head to glare in their direction. "If it isn't the traitor," he growled at Loki. "And the wench whom brought me down." He now stared in Natasha's direction.

"We are in need of some information," began Loki. He folded his hands behind his back as he began to pace before the glass container. "Tell us about the gauntlet given to you on Asgard."

"Bring it to me and I'll _show _you," he smirked.

Loki began to chuckle under his breath. "You shouldn't mistake us for fools." His smirk formed into a thin line as he glared into Thanos's eyes. "I know the power that the gauntlet possesses."

"What brings you here, then?"

"Tell me," Loki continued, his tone growing fierce, "what are the limits to its infinite power?"

Thanos' laughter boomed throughout his cage. "There _are_ no limits!"

"Can this power conquer death?" he asked suddenly. His hands squeezed together behind his back as he awaited a response.

"You wish to bring back the man you killed?" He smiled widely.

Loki kept a rather calm composure, despite the anger boiling inside of him. "Precisely. He died a meaningless death."

"Of course!" Thanos exclaimed. "As I said, the Infinity Gauntlet has no limits."

"Then why do you need the Tesseract?" Natasha interrupted. "Why need that when this gauntlet can do anything?"

"Because then all power will be under my control," he explained darkly. "No one could surpass me!"

"How unfortunate to be locked away and stripped of such power," added Loki.

"You know you crave such power, too, god."

"Our business here is finished." He coolly turned on his heel and began to walk away with Natasha following closely behind.

"You will return. Do not forget that you owe me. You have betrayed me several times now," he taunted.

Without a word in response, Loki and Natasha left the room.


	21. Chapter 21

"What did he mean with the whole 'betrayal' thing?" Natasha asked as she pressed her back against the door.

He kept his back to her and lowered his eyes as he spoke. "We made a deal," he began. "This was when I had first arrived on Midgard. It was Thanos who had lent me the Chitauri army in exchange for the Tesseract."

"You went through all that for world domination?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Believe me when I say that I regret my mistake." He turned around to face her.

"You didn't plan on giving back the Tesseract, did you?"

"That was the plan." His brows raised as a grin formed across his face.

She shook her head, clearly un-amused by his antics. "This isn't funny."

"He won't stop until he gets his revenge. I would assume that means my death," he continued, the smile no longer.

"Loki," she growled, dragging out his name. She brought a hand to her face and sighed.

"I deceived him." He reached out to touch her face. "I _fear_ him."

Natasha's eyes fixed upon his face as he spoke.

"While I was kept locked up, it was he who freed me." The memory had left him scarred and his eyes narrowed as he told her his story. "He made me take him to the Tesseract. I knew Odin had it kept locked up, so I showed him into Odin's chamber room. Then, I learned that Thor had taken it with him to Midgard." He suddenly felt disappointed. "Odin had probably entrusted it to Thor. After all, who better to carry such responsibility than him?"

"You already mentioned that he freed you. What happened then?"

He looked away from her, feeling overcome by a strong sense of guilt. "I ran away. To Midgard… I hoped that he would kill Odin while I made my leave. Odin's death would have left Thor tormented for leaving his home."

"Did you think that when Thor returned, Thanos would kill him, too?"

He lowered his head in response.

"You want revenge now, though. You can kill him yourself." She brought a hand to his face and forced him to look at her.

"Only after Thor's life is restored," he added.

"I'll have Fury know the plan. Let's go back home now." She grabbed his hand and held it as they left the facility. Before getting into her car, Natasha sent Fury a text about needing to discuss the gauntlet with everyone. They made their way back to the Avengers Tower and returned to Natasha's bedroom. It was nearly 4 AM when they arrived. Loki removed his coat and draped it over the stool before her vanity.

Natasha was seated on her bed, cross-legged as she watched him.

"You should get some rest," he told her as he unfastened the leather skirt that hung at his waist.

"Give me a sec." She stared at him blankly, then looked away as she felt a wave of nausea kick in. "Shit!" she cursed as she ran to the connecting bathroom with a hand over her mouth.

Curious, he watched as she left him so abruptly, only to follow her out of concern. Before he could join her in the bathroom, she had slammed the door in his face. "What happened?" he demanded.

"Go away!" she groaned as she sat hunched over the toilet. The bile rose up in her throat and she began to retch until her sides hurt. Her body felt weakened afterwards, most likely from the lack of sleep.

"Forgive me," said Loki as he hovered over her shoulder.

She turned to him, clearly taken by surprise by his sudden appearance. "Just go away," she whispered in defeat.

In his outstretched hand, he held a damp washcloth for her.

"Thanks…" She accepted it and wiped the corners of her mouth, slightly embarrassed he was seeing her in a moment of weakness.

"Are you well now?" he blinked, continuing to stare. His hand tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"For now," she said as she reached up to flush the toilet. "Just go to bed without me. I think I might be sick again," she warned him.

"I'll stay," he offered.

"I don't want you to." She didn't mean to come off as rude. The hormones, she figured.

Loki stared at her from beneath his lashes. "I'd prefer not to be alone." He forced a weak smile to hide any traces of his sadness.

She pursed her lips, unable to say no to him. Seeing him like this reminded her of a puppy. Or a child in need of his mother…She rose to brush her teeth and rinse her mouth of the bile. A hand ran through her slightly unkempt hair. "I feel like a mess."

Loki stood behind her, staring into the mirror with her. "Ridiculous," he murmured into her ear before kissing her cheek.

A smile formed on her face and she perked up almost instantly. "This is all your fault, you know," she playfully reminded him.

His brow arched in curiosity.

"The things I have to go through for this kid…"

"It will be worth it in the end, will it not?" His hand trailed over her flat stomach.

"That's easy for _you_ to say," she playfully added.

He leaned in to kiss her. After they pulled apart, Natasha insisted on sitting on the floor for a while longer. Eventually, she had fallen asleep with her head against his shoulder. Carefully, Loki lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed.


	22. Chapter 22

There was only one answer as to how Natasha had ended up back in bed after she clearly remembered waiting near the toilet and that answer was fast asleep beside her. A hand rested under her chin as she lay on her side, watching Loki sleep. The harmless look on his face conveyed a childlike innocence. She couldn't help but wonder if everyone would soon be able to see the gentle side of Loki that he showed her. Speaking of everyone… She grabbed her cell phone from off her nightstand and found a message from Fury. He wanted to meet with her and Loki as soon as possible. She checked the time and saw that it was almost nine. Although she was still tired, this meeting was more important than sleep. "Loki?" she whispered.

His nose wrinkled in reply.

She wondered if it would be alright to leave him. After all, Loki had already told her everything she needed to know. She got out of bed and went to take a shower and get dressed. When she finished, she stepped out into the bedroom to retrieve her weapons, only to notice Loki missing. She left her room and began to search for him. "Loki?" she called out.

Surely enough, he appeared from the kitchen entryway as he heard her voice.

"What are you doing?" she asked. She couldn't help noticing how handsome he was looking in the button-up white shirt, black pants, and tie ensemble. "More like where are you going…"

"Are we not meeting with the Head in Command today?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was just gonna head over."

"And abandon me?" The grin on his face indicated that he was toying with her.

"You were sleeping," she noted.

"Just think of all the mischief that can be done around here," he chuckled.

She rolled her eyes. "Old habits must be hard to break for you."

"Very much so." He swiftly approached her and placed his hands on her hips. "I need to accompany you today," he began on a serious note. "This business involves my Brother. If anything, it should be you to stay."

Her gaze hardened. "I'm not going to be left out of this!" she snapped at him. "This is the only part of my job that I'm useful for anymore, so give me this opportunity!" In one swift motion, she pulled away from him and folded her arms across her chest. "Fury wanted to see _me_, too. This doesn't just concern you."

He stared at her backside, taken aback by the change in attitude. "I only said that out of concern for your own health. Sleep didn't come easily last night," he added.

She groaned as she realized that Loki was beginning to treat her as a burden. She was only trying to keep up with the rest of her team. She had been so accustomed to being the team's asset and fighting evil-doers. It made her feel useless to be left on the sidelines. She wanted to help, Loki especially.

"Forgive me," he said quietly. "As you said, 'old habits are hard to break'… You, the master assassin, the spy- you _live_ for the danger. The thrill."

She finally turned around to meet his gaze. "I still do." She flashed a smile for him. "What's more dangerous and thrilling than sleeping with the enemy?"

"Agreeing to bring his child into the world," he replied before kissing her hair.

And just like that, her anger subsided and she felt that they were at peace once again. "What were you doing in here again?" she wondered.

"Looking for some form of nourishment," he replied.

"Did you have something in mind?" she asked.

"What do your people call those desserts in the cups? I believe one I had eaten was a chocolate flavour."

The serious expression on his face as he explained a child's treat only made her laugh. "Pudding. Sorry, but we can get some later?"

"Am I amusing you?" he asked.

"Quite a lot, actually," she admitted.

He decided to continue to pester her with Midgardian foods. "What was it that Thor fancied to drink?"

"Coffee." She went over to the coffee maker and began to make some for him. She then grabbed a mug and went through the cabinets to withdraw two bowls, the grabbed two spoons for each of them. Cereal seemed to be a simple enough breakfast, especially since she wanted to hurry over to meet with Fury.

Loki accepted the bowl of cereal Natasha had made for him and ate with her in silence at the table. As they were finishing up, Natasha poured him a cup of coffee, only to have Loki wrinkle his nose at the bitter taste. She added a spoonful of sugar to it, but it still wasn't to his liking. Several wasted lumps of sugar later, Loki accepted that coffee wasn't to his liking.

"Go easy on the sugar," she warned him.

"I enjoy its taste," he replied.

"You're a child!"

He grimaced at her from the table.

"Ready to go, then?" she asked.

"Yes…" The look of seriousness masked his face as he rose from the table to follow her out.


	23. Chapter 23

Natasha stood alongside Loki before Commander Nick Fury as he sat behind his desk.

"And you really think this gauntlet can bring Thor back?" Fury asked with his eye on Loki.

"As previously stated, it possesses unlimited power," Loki continued with a calm demeanor.

Fury rose from his chair and went over to a safe. His fingers quickly yet carefully turned the knob to open the door. "I take it you know how to use this?" He pulled the shining golden gauntlet from the safe and held it in both hands. It was larger than the size of one of Fury's own hand. "Not that I trust _you_ with this," he remarked.

Loki intensely focused on the object. Power beyond imagination was before him, beckoning him. However, the only thing he craved more than power was to restore the departed soul of his only Brother. "No," he replied quickly.

"That leaves Thanos," said Natasha.

"Let's get this over with," grumbled Fury as he walked ahead of the two to the containment room.

The moment they entered, Thanos had caught a glimpse of gold in the corner of his eye and he smiled widely for his guests. "Returning my possessions, I see."

"Anything we should know before using this?" Nick Fury wondered as he held it out for Thanos to see.

"It's as simple as slipping on a glove," Thanos grinned.

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Fury sarcastically growled. "How is this actually put to use?"

"Simply will it and it shall happen," he began.

"Let's get this to the Tower, then," Fury told Natasha and Loki.

"However," Thanos continued. "Whatever it is that you wish to accomplish with the gauntlet's power must be done so by the wearer who wants it the most." He now fixed his gaze in Loki's direction. "Or else its power will fail, or even work in another way."

The three instantly caught on to Thanos's word of discretion. "Then Loki needs to do this…" said Natasha.

Fury glared at Loki. He could feel a migraine coming on. First, he had to deal with Thanos' antics, all while worrying about what Loki would _really_ do when given infinite power. "Like _hell_ I'm able to trust him with this."

Loki narrowed his eyes at Nick Fury, angered by the man's arrogance. "If you think I want control over Midgard, then you are mistaken. I only want to bring back Thor."

"So says the god of mischief," Nick retorted.

A nerve was struck within Loki and he suddenly found himself ready to lunge at Fury. "Who are you to know my every thought?" he hissed. "Am I so cold and heartless in your eyes to not care about my own Brother? I love Thor!" he shouted. "You're a damned fool for thinking otherwise!" Before he could throw a punch towards the man's face, Natasha had grabbed his arm just as Fury reached for the gun hidden beneath his trench coat.

"One false move and you join your friend in there!" Fury warned him as he pointed the gun at Loki.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Thanks to my reviewers and readers x3 I hope you guys are enjoying!**

"Please put that away, will you?" Natasha growled as she held Loki's arm. "You're idiots- the both of you!" she snapped.

Fury put his gun away and stared at her curiously.

Loki also shot her a questioning stare as he took a step back.

Natasha turned to face Thanos in his glass cage. "You want this, don't you?" she asked him.

"A shame you catch on quickly," he grimaced.

She folded her arms across her chest as she continued. "So you think by having them fight, you'd somehow manage to achieve freedom? Nice try," she smirked.

Loki exchanged a glance with Nick Fury.

"Unfortunately, I'm _used_ to dealing with the manipulative type." She turned around to flash a smile at Loki.

His brows knitted together in confusion. "Care to explain?"

"I don't think there _are_ any exceptions to that thing's powers. I mean, _infinite _power, anything you want- why would there be an exception? Leave it to our prisoner to try getting you two to kill each other…"

"Impressive as usual," Loki informed her with a sly grin.

Fury shook his head in disgust as he eyed the couple looking overly-friendly. "Let's just get out of here."

"So soon?" Thanos asked. "A shame. Especially since there actually _is_ an exception in regards to dealing with matters of life and death." From a gold pouch that hung at his belt, he withdrew an emerald stone. "I managed to keep this safely hidden just in case."

Fury stared down at the gauntlet and noticed the five coloured gems that attached to each knuckle.

"The soul gem," explained Thanos. "This also happens to be the only way to bring back your friend from the dead…"

"I suggest you hand it over before I have to resort to more drastic measures," Fury warned him.

"There is only one way I'm willing to part with this," he continued. "For now, I'll settle for the Tesseract. Think of it as a clean trade…"

"It can't hurt, right?" Natasha asked Fury. "He's stuck in there. That thing's indestructible, right?"

"It has yet to be tested on the cube, and we're not gonna take any chances _now_."

Natasha flashed her chief a knowing glance. "It couldn't hurt. We're desperate, aren't we?"

He handed off the gauntlet to her while he went off to retrieve the Tesseract.

Thanos chuckled to himself, pleased by their agreement.

"The cage really is quite indestructible," Loki commented. "I should know. They kept me locked up in here." He placed a hand on the glass. "I admit, there have been some fine memories associated with my confinement." In his peripheral vision, he eyed Natasha.

Nick Fury soon returned with the glowing blue cube in one hand. "I'd like you to set the gem down and back away!" he warned Thanos. He approached the cage's entrance and readied his ID to be swiped.

Thanos obliged and set the stone down near the entry way before he stepped back towards the back of his cell.

Natasha handed the gauntlet off to Loki as Fury swiped his card. The door opened and Fury snatched the gem at the very moment Natasha fired Widow's Sting attack at Thanos's chest.

His body began to convulse from the surprise electric shocks that overcame his body.

The door sealed itself shut. "Let's go," ordered Fury.

As they left the room, Loki returned the gauntlet to him. "Safe in your hands."

Fury set the gem in the center of the gauntlet before he handed it back to Loki. "Here."

Loki stared at the temptation being presented to him, then to the Commander. "You have confidence that I won't betray you?" He flashed his signature smirk.

"If you keep up _that_ attitude, I'll make sure you're sent back home for good!"

He chuckled softly as he accepted the gauntlet. "Many thanks, Commander."

"I've got my eye on you," he warned Loki in reply.

"Are you sure about this?" Bruce asked.

"Yes. This should work." Loki slid the heavy piece of metal over his hand and watched as the six attached gems began to emanate a faint glow.

Bruce pulled away the sheet that covered Thor's body. He and all the other Avengers along with Fury watched anxiously to see what would happen.

Loki stood beside the table where Thor's body laid, eyes filled with sadness. He outstretched his hand that wore the Infinity Gauntlet over his Brother's heart and tightly shut his eyes. "Come back to us, Thor," he whispered. "To me…" His head bowed as he waited, wishing for Thor to return to him.


	25. Chapter 25

The gems began to glow brightly, especially the green one in the center. A golden light enveloped around Thor's lifeless body.

Loki sensed an aura of warmth surrounding him and he opened his eyes. He watched in wonder as the golden light seemed to disappear into his Brother's body. The gash where Thor had been stabbed healed itself in an instant. When the last traces of light vanished, Loki stared at his Thor's body warily. "Thor?" he asked quietly. For a moment, there was silence. Loki pulled the gauntlet off and it loudly fell to the floor, but he didn't care what became of it. He reached out to touch Thor's face and his eyes widened as he felt the warmth of his skin.

A familiar set of blue eyes stared up at Loki. "My Brother…" he began weakly.

Loki suddenly felt like a helpless child as he broke down and pulled Thor close to him.

Thor smiled and squeezed Loki tightly. He was so overcome with joy that he didn't realize that he was crushing his Brother.

"Th-Thor-…" Loki gasped.

"Forgive me, Brother!" he laughed loudly as he loosened his grip. "I have missed you!"

"I've missed you, too," he added in reply as they broke apart from their brotherly hug.

"Thunder guy's back!" proclaimed Tony. "We thought we lost you back there!" He went over to slap Thor on the back. "This calls for some drinks!"

As Tony led Thor up to his living room accompanied by Fury and the other Avengers, Loki chose to stay behind in Tony's workspace.

Natasha noticed Loki's absence and went back to find him. "Everything okay?"

He knelt down to pick the gauntlet off of the floor and set it atop the table. "Thor's back," he said meekly. "Loved by all, of course."

"He was dead," she reminded him; although, she could sense that it wasn't what was upsetting him.

"Yes," he sighed, "leaving me to remain the shadow in his footsteps." He bowed his head in disappointment.

She approached him and placed a hand on his chest. "You're just as good as he is."

"Care to tell Odin that?" he quietly growled.

"I'd like to tell him how you brought his son back to life," she informed him with confidence. "I really would."

"Thor will always be the golden son," he sulked.

"Hey." She reached up to touch his face and their eyes met. "You'll always come first to _me._ And to this kid," she promised. "I love you, Loki." Their lips met in a passionate kiss. They found themselves suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

"Loki." It was Thor. He stood in the door frame to Tony's work space, staring at the couple. "I've managed to escape the Man of Iron's celebration," he explained. "Come with me to Asgard to tell our Father!" he smiled as he held out the Tesseract given to him by Fury.

Loki returned the smile in agreement. "Yes." He held Natasha's hand in his. "Come with me," he told her.

"Of course," she replied.


	26. Chapter 26

"My son!" Odin proclaimed the moment he saw Thor appear in the throne room's entrance. His wife, Frigga, had tears in her eyes upon seeing her son alive. "You are alive!" He rose from his place on the throne and outstretched his arms as Thor quickly approached his parents.

Loki uncomfortably watched the heartfelt reunion. His grip on Natasha's hand had tightened subconsciously.

"Hey," she whispered as she glanced up at him. The look of longing in his eyes began to concern her.

"I'm fine," he stated. Still, he continued to stare ahead, watching Thor hug his Mother and Father. The perfect family. There was no room in this picture for a lost soul, such as himself. He had his _own_ family to look out for and that was something he valued in his heart more than anything. "Perfectly fine," he added with a small smile.

"It was all Loki, Father," Thor began. "He used the Infinity Gauntlet that you had told us stories of as boys!"

Hearing Thor praise him had caught Loki's attention. He was able to look Odin straight in the eyes with a sense of pride.

"My son…" Odin drew nearer to Loki. "Thank you." He warmly embraced his son.

Loki stood in place, wide-eyed by the praise and attention that Odin had only given him in his dreams. Suddenly, he felt like he had finally gotten what he wanted. A family-more than just Natasha. The family he had grown up with was accepting him, despite his faults from the past.

"You had infinite powers at your command and you used them for good," added Thor. "I can't ask for a better Brother!"

"Oh, Loki!" His Mother threw her arms around him.

"You have redeemed yourself as I always hoped you would," Odin commented. He happened to notice Natasha standing off to the side, then turned to Loki. "You had previously mentioned a child. Is this your wife-to-be?" he wondered.

_Wife? _She hadn't once wrapped her mind around the idea of actually _marrying_ Loki. Natasha felt her face grow hot. She noticed Loki stare at her with a sly grin. He seemed to be finding her embarrassment amusing so she glared back.

"Father, Mother, this is Natasha Romanoff," began Loki. "We've yet to discuss marriage," he added as he eyed Natasha curiously. He took her hand in his and brought her closer to his family. "I only recently heard the news that I am to be a father…"

"This is most wonderful news!" Frigga exclaimed. "I am to be a Grandmother!" she beamed.

Natasha had always managed to maintain a cool composure after years of her training, but now she was finding herself losing it before Loki's family. She wondered if it was because _she_ never had a real family. Her memories of a father and mother had been completely wiped from her memory. She absently began to _try_ remembering something-anything- but a sick feeling induced by all the brain-washing settled in her stomach. She stopped herself and focused on Loki's family.

Loki took note of her sickly pallor and decided it was time to leave. "Perhaps we can visit another day," he coolly continued. "Thor was in the midst of a celebration with his friends." He shot his Brother a look telling him that it was time to leave.

"Yes," said Thor. "We are needed back on Midgard!"

"It was nice to meet you," Natasha smiled after Thor and Loki had bid their parents farewell.

"Come back soon-all of you!" Frigga added.

Thor, Loki, and Batasha grabbed hold of the Tesseract and were transported back to the Avenger's Tower.

"You didn't have to leave," Natasha told Loki.

He shook his head. "You look unwell. It's the lack of sleep."

"Probably," she lied. "You stay with Thor, okay? I'm just gonna lie down."

Loki nodded and accompanied Thor back up to the party.

Natasha went straight to her apartment and ended up emptying the contents of her stomach and showering before finally going to bed.


	27. Chapter 27

Two weeks had passed since Thor had been brought back from the dead by Loki. Within the short passage of time, the Avengers hadn't been very busy as far as crime-fighting went. Nick Fury had decided that the safest place for the Infinity Gauntlet was in Odin's possession back on Asgard. Keeping such a dangerous object around made him wary, especially while Thanos was on earth with them all. The way Thanos seemed to be tolerant of his lockdown also worried him. In an effort to destroy the current power of the gauntlet, he kept three of the gems locked up to remain with him.

"I shall bring this to my parents!" promised Thor as Fury handed the gauntlet off to him. Thor also saw this as an opportunity to bring Loki and Natasha back for another visit, as they had promised.

"Visiting your parents?" Natasha asked Loki after he had casually brought it up over breakfast.

"You don't seem thrilled over the plan," he noticed.

"No, it's not that," she continued. "They seem nice." She didn't understand why she was so bothered by the idea. The fact that she didn't grow up with parents had never bothered her before. Had that even been the real reason?

"Was it my Father's mentioning of marriage?"

Natasha froze while in mid-chew of one of Thor's Pop-Tarts. The more she thought about it, the more strange it felt. She couldn't see herself marrying again, not after Alexei. The overall idea of being a wife and having a baby left her weirded out. She was the Black Widow-a spy, an assassin. She wasn't a wife or mother.

"I'm correct, aren't I?" he grinned.

She shrugged and began to break apart what was left of the Pop-Tart.

"Do you not want to be made my wife?" He rested his chin on his hand as he observed her gestures.

"It sounds weird when you put it like that. Like I'm your property or something." He eyes narrowed as she stared down at her plate.

"Does marriage intimidate you?" he wondered. "Unless there is someone else…" He raised a brow.

She rolled her eyes. "You already know the answer, Loki. It's just you and me." She looked up at him. "I'd rather not think about marriage now. It feels strange."

"You never know- Odin may change his mind and make me King, leaving you to be my Queen," he mused.

"Don't let it go to your head," she warned him. "I'll visit your parents with you, ok? The wedding talk can come later."

He chuckled quietly. "Agreed."

Later that evening, Loki, Natasha, and Thor had gone to Asgard. The first order of business was to hand the Infinity Gauntlet back to Odin. The group had then gathered for dinner together and Natasha began to feel more at ease-mostly because there was no mention of marriage or the baby, strangely enough.

"You should stay the night," Frigga suggested as dinner finished up.

"That would be wonderful, Mother!" Thor proclaimed.

Loki looked to Natasha.

"I'm okay with it," she replied. "Thank you for everything," she politely added.

"And this is my bedroom." Loki led Natasha into his bedroom to finish up their tour.

Natasha looked around the plain, yet ornate room. There were shelves filled with books, a desk, and a king-sized bed with dark green satin sheets. "It suits you," she commented as she began to examine her surroundings. Everything was kept neat and orderly.

He removed his black leather coat and hung it over his desk chair. "I'm sure my Mother will have something for you to wear for the night," he continued. "Wait here while I find her," he smiled.

Natasha occupied herself with flipping through some of the books. Many seemed to be spell books and some weren't even in English.

Minutes later, Loki returned with a white gown of silk and sheer fabrics. "Here you are. I'm sure it should fit."

She looked up from a book as he presented it to her and she tensed up. The dress seemed simple enough, but it still looked fancy enough to be a wedding dress. Again, the idea of marriage was still hanging over her head.

He smiled, "I couldn't find something simpler than this."

"No, I'll wear this. I'll have to thank your Mother," she said as she accepted it from him.

"You'll have to do so in the morning. My parents seem to be elsewhere…"

"So you stole this from her? Great," she sarcastically remarked.

"My Mother seems fond of you," he assured her with a smile.

"She didn't say much during dinner," she noted.

Loki fell silent. "They didn't seem themselves tonight."

"Are they okay?" she wondered, rolling the dress up in her arms.

He nodded and went to sit on the four-poster bed. "They seemed more concerned for Thor and happenings on Midgard…"

Natasha took a seat beside him. "Are _you_ okay?"

"Fine." He reached out to touch her hair. "What say you change into that dress?"

She could sense a worried vibe coming off him.

"Allow me to assist you with getting rid of these clothes." He smirked and his hands pulled off her black jacket.

"Right now?" she asked. At least he seemed more himself now.

"It's been too long," he slyly reminded her.

She rolled her eyes and pulled her shirt off for him. "It's been less than a week."

"Six days far too long," he corrected her.

She couldn't help but laugh. He was seeming a bit desperate for her.

He unclasped her bra, a skill he had perfected during his time spent with her. "These have gotten bigger, have they not?" he asked as his hands cupped her breasts.

"A little," she gasped. Her breasts had not only felt sore as of recent, but extra sensitive. The very touch of Loki's hands against her chest had made her feel more easily aroused.

Loki caught on to the sensitivity of her breasts and he began taking advantage of this. He ran his tongue across a nipple, making her shudder. His breath was hot against her bare skin. Gently, he began to suckle on her breast.

"Loki!" she moaned. She found herself grabbing his hair and pulling him closer to her chest.

He winced slightly at the pain in his head and decided to move on to other parts of her body. He pulled down her pants and she began to unfasten his. The two were soon naked and clinging to each other as if for dear life. Loki had Natasha pinned down to the mattress as he took pleasure in fingering her clit.

"Just fuck me." She was practically begging to him for it by now.

This made Loki's smile widen and he gave in to her desires. "You can't hold out for as long, can you?" he asked. Already, he had made her cum twice. "How sensitive your body has become," he noticed. He readied himself at her entrance and thrusted in.

Her nails dug into his back as she cried out his name.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Thank you to my new reviewers, followers, and favers! :D**

The faint sound of nearby footsteps startled Natasha from her slumber. She sat up in bed and looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings. It had taken her a second to remember that she was with Loki on Asgard. She lay back down and rested her head against Loki's chest. The footsteps seemed to draw nearer, but she disregarded it and focused on returning to sleep. There was a moment of silence and Natasha couldn't help but grow suspicious. She looked towards the closed door and the next thing she knew, the door had flung open and Odin and Frigga burst through the door.

Loki bolted upright at the sound and instinctively threw an arm out to shield Natasha.

"Where are the remaining gems?!" demanded Odin.

"Father, what is this about?!" Loki growled.

"Thor has them, doesn't he?"

"Fa-…" Before he could finish, Natasha had her chest pressed against his back as she whispered into his ear.

"The rest of the gems. Fury," she reminded him. "You said your parents were acting strangely…"

Loki looked at his parents. They certainly appeared to be his Father and Mother, but something wasn't quite right.

"Seize them!" Odin pointed a finger at the two in the bed.

Two of Odin's bodyguards appeared from out of nowhere and entered the room, each armed with long, pointed spears.

Natasha reached for her pile of clothes on the floor to grab her wrist blasters, but a bodyguard had already seized her.

"Let her go!" Loki snapped as he fought off his captor.

Natasha threw her head back and into the face of the bodyguard. He was caught off guard for a second and Natasha swung her leg up, aiming for the man's face. The bodyguard regained his senses and smacked her in the side with his spear, sending her to the ground.

"Natasha!" Loki cried. He elbowed the guard in the side and rushed to her side.

"Where have the remaining gems been taken?" Odin demanded.

"Natasha!" Loki reached out to brush her hair from her face.

She winced and grabbed her left side. "I'm okay," she breathed. She sat up and felt her side near her ribs. Nothing felt broken- just bruised.

"Answer me, boy!" Odin struck Loki over the head with the guard's spear.

"Ah-!" Loki collapsed into Natasha's chest.

As Natasha glared up at him, his appearance changed to that of a green, alien-like creature. Frigga and the two guards also transformed into the same creature.

"Tell us!" the creature shouted. He raised the spear over his head and Natasha pulled the unconscious Loki close to her. Before he could strike, Loki's eyes opened and he outstretched his hand. In a second, the spear had become a snake and the green-skinned creature leapt back as the snake fell to the floor and turned back into a spear as it hit the floor.

"What are you?" hissed Loki. He grabbed the spear and grasped it tightly.

"Our race is known as Skrulls," he began. "You've returned the Infinity Gauntlet, however three gems are missing. Where are they?!" he questioned.

Thor suddenly appeared in the doorway. "What became of our parents?!"

"You!" the Skrull whirled on him. "You must possess the gems!"

While his back was turned, Loki impaled him straight through the heart. Thor threw his hammer towards a Skrull off to the side who had pretended to be his Mother and pinned it to the floor. The two remaining Skrull found themselves cornered. Natasha grabbed her wrist blasters from her pile of clothes on the floor and shot the two who posed as bodyguards, leaving Loki to finish them off.

"Tell us who sent you!" Thor shouted to the Skrull who he had pinned down.

"Thanos," it breathed.

Loki tensed up at the mention of the name. This was all his fault. He turned to stare at Natasha, who had been injured because of this. His gaze fixed upon his Brother, who had died because of Thanos. His knuckles turned white around the bloody spear he grasped. "How many of you are there?"

"Hundreds," it replied, turning to Loki with a grin.

Before they could further interrogate it, Loki stabbed it through the chest. "We need to return to Midgard."

"Loki, we were getting answers!" Thor protested.

"Hundreds, Thor!" he shouted. "You heard him! Thanos is commanding an army!"

"Fury needs to know this," interrupted Natasha. "He has what they're after."

"The unanswered question is how they took the appearance of our parents," continued Thor. "We _need_ to know that, Loki!"

"They tried to _kill_ us, Thor!" growled Loki.

"You had no right to just kill-!"

Natasha got in between the two to stop them from any physical contact. "Whatever the case, they'll be coming back. They think one of us has those gems, right?" she asked. "So it looks like _we're_ the targets."

Loki hung his head in defeat. "This is my fault. Your lives are in danger because of me."

"Loki, no. Don't blame yourself," she said sadly.

Thor couldn't help but feel bad for his Brother. "I will find Mother and Father and then we will deliver this news to Asgard." He turned on his heel and left the room.

Natasha ran a hand through Loki's hair, feeling his head where he was hit.

"Don't touch me," he quietly warned her.

"You really took a hit back there," she reminded him.

"So did you." His worried eyes met with hers. "I can't lose you." He held her hand in his. "You mean more to me than anything else." His hand gingerly pressed against her injured left side. He noticed her slightly cringe at his touch. "I did this to you."

"Loki, I'm fine," she promised. "We'll deal with these guys, okay? And _then_," she smiled, "we can finally have some peace."

He chuckled at her comment. "I don't believe 'peace and quiet' puts you at ease."

"You know me all too well," she remarked before kissing him.


	29. Chapter 29

Thor had eventually found his parents locked up in the dungeon where Loki had once been held prisoner. Odin had no knowledge about the 'Skrull' race, so Thor had decided that it was time to return to earth his Loki, Natasha, and a Skrull corpse.

"'Skrull?'" Nick Fury asked curiously.

"They were after the remaining gems," Natasha continued.

"And they had taken the appearance of our parents," added Thor.

"We'll have to get on this," said Fury. "I'll have Stark and Banner start researching the body."

"Allow me to get the doctor for you," Loki said as he took Natasha by the hand.

"Wait, Loki!" She followed after him, much to her dismay.

"He should be the one to confirm if you are well."

There was no point in arguing anymore. Loki could be just as stubborn as she was. While she had changed out of his Mother's dress earlier on, he noticed a bruise and began to worry.

Bruce was sitting at his desk in his office, reading away, when Loki and Natasha interrupted.

"Doctor Banner, was it?" asked Loki.

"Yes?" Bruce looked up and adjusted his glasses.

Natasha began to speak before Loki could say anything. "Can you look at a minor injury for a sec?" she asked.

"How minor?" he asked as he rose from his desk.

She lifted up her shirt halfway to expose her side.

Bruce went into professional mode and began to touch her exposed skin. "No pain?"

"None," she said with a straight face.

"Looks okay," he began. "However, I'm not an OB-GYN or anything like that."

Loki was standing off to the side, clueless as to what that was.

"I have an appointment soon," she informed him.

"As long as you're not bleeding, I'd say you're okay. Anything else?" he asked with a sheepish grin.

"Fury's got a new science project for you," she said. "Tell Stark. I'm sure you guys will have a blast," she remarked before she left with Loki.

Loki and Natasha had settled into bed, however neither were sleeping. "Loki?" she asked quietly.

"Yes?" He rolled onto his side to better face her.

"I think we should talk…" She kept her eyes fixed on the gritty texture of her bedroom ceiling.

Loki laid there in silence, waiting for her to speak.

"We never really talked about this baby or anything."

"Do you want names?" he asked.

She shook her head and sat upright. "I really don't want a baby."

He also sat up and eyed her curiously. "We are having one, though."

"But I don't _want_ it," she admitted. Her green eyes met with his and the hurt look in his eyes meant that she had definitely said the wrong thing.

"So you plan to abandon it?" he asked. "How about you give it away to a family of Skrulls and have them raise it as their own—"

"Loki, wait!" she interrupted.

The tone of his voice grew darker as he spoke. "They can raise it as one of them and lie to it about what it really is!" He thought of his own upbringing and the pain he felt upon learning of his true parentage. Without realizing it, he had tears in his eyes.

"Loki, I didn't mean that!" She had caught on to what his story was really about and she felt awful. She then remembered how she had thought that a baby would make Loki a better person since it would give him his own family and she felt even worse.

"Oh, you didn't, did you?!" he spat.

"I only meant that _I'm _not ready!" He had paused, so she kept talking. "I'm an assassin, Loki. I'm the Black Widow, not some kid's mom! This isn't in my training!" She buried her face in her hands. "I just feel so conflicted!" Her hands worked their way into her hair.

Loki's hard glare softened as he saw her in such distress. Something inside of him questioned if he was even ready to father a child.

"I feel like I'm split," she continued. "There's Natasha that kind of wants a baby, but then there's the Black Widow who doesn't have time for any of this bullshit!" The next thing she knew, hot tears were falling from her eyes. She had gotten so worked up that she was actually _crying._ Never in her life had she felt so weak that it left her in tears and vulnerable in front of the man she cared about.

Loki pulled her body against his. "Who are you now?" he asked softly as he stroked her hair.

She looked up at him through her long lashes with tear-filled eyes. "Natasha," she choked out.

"Then let's work hard to make this work." A small smile played at the corners of his lips. His hand touched her face and he wiped a tear away with his thumb.

She found herself hugging him tightly and burying her face against his bare chest. "I'm scared," she admitted. Loki had to have been the only person to hear her utter those words.

"There is no reason to be," he assured her with a gentle squeeze.

"I lost my first baby," she said unexpectedly.

He anxiously stared at her, unaware of this side of her.

"I was married years ago. To Alexei," she calmly continued. "I found out I was pregnant…" The memory of her waking up in bed, merely seven weeks along, to a blood-stained night gown and blood trickling down her thighs made her cringe. "My body just didn't accept it as part of me… But the medication I'm on helps."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked poignantly.

"Because I want you to know everything about me," she admitted.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he admitted.

"Maybe we really deserve this," she mused. "This kid might be a way of wiping the red off our ledgers…"

"An interesting point…"

"Let's hope for the best, right?"

He lay down on the bed and pulled her down with him. "Yes."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Reviewers, followers, favers, readers, you're all amazing! x3**

The next morning, all of the Avengers, Loki, and Nick Fury all stood outside of Thanos's glass cage.

"Care to tell us about these 'Skrulls?'" Fury asked.

"Their DNA makeup is fascinating!" Banner commented.

Tony nodded in agreement.

"You've already met?" asked Thanos who appeared to be interested.

"They took on the appearance of my parents!" Thor informed him. "What black magic is that?"

Thanos's laughter boomed throughout his cell. "They take on whatever appearance they please."

The group remained in place, all equally shocked by the news.

"They may even be amongst you as we speak and you would never know the difference," Thanos taunted them.

They all exchanged glances, contemplating if there were traitors hidden amongst them.

"But they don't know about us, do they?" asked Natasha with her arms crossed. "I mean, they obviously don't know our personal information."

"They can always learn," Thanos warned her. "Even so, they'll have you killed before you can do anything about it."

"It would be wise to end this or you face an early death," Fury advised.

"Kill me," he grinned. "Kill me and my army will avenge me!"

"Are they here on earth right now?" Bruce asked.

"Be honest or you'll be in for it!" Steve warned the creature.

"They're coming," Thanos promised.

The group left Thanos and went in for a much-needed group meeting. "So theses 'Skrulls' can become any one of us," Fury began as he took a seat at the head of the round table.

"It's decided. Secret handshake time!" announced Tony.

Everyone groaned in protest, except for Clint who began to snicker, "so we're stooping to a six-year-old girl's level?"

"All joking aside, Stark has a point," Natasha pointed out.

"Just because they can steal any appearance, doesn't mean they know about us. Any one of ask has permission to ask personal questions if worse comes to worse," Fury concluded.

"And what happens if one of them takes on your appearance and steals our files?" asked Natasha.

"I have trackers placed on each and every person working here, myself included," he added. "Those Skrulls can't imitate _that_."

"Trackers? Well, I feel violated now," Tony remarked as he downed his drink.

"Don't we all?" Steve asked.

Three weeks had passed and the team had received no word on any of Thanos's army until one day when Odin had summoned Thor back to Asgard to warn him that the Infinity Gauntlet had been stolen.

"The Skrulls are making their move!" Thor warned his friends amid one of their meetings.

"Took 'em long enough," said Tony as he leaned back in his chair. "Looks like we're back in action!"

Fury opened up a stainless steel briefcase that he had placed upon their meeting table. "Since its come to this, I'm taking extreme caution." He spun the briefcase around for the Avengers and Loki to see. Inside, tucked between layers of packing foam rested the Tesseract and the three missing gems. "If they get a hold of these gems, we're in for a hell of a hard time, so I'm entrusting you with these." He handed a gem to Tony, Steve, and Bruce. "I suggest you hold onto those at all times. I'll keep the Tesseract locked up for safekeeping," he added.

Tony eyed the red gem. "I think I'll make this a necklace."

"Please take this seriously!" Natasha warned him.

"Jealous you don't have one for yourself?" he smirked.

"I was a target before, I won't be a target again," she reminded him.

"Has Thanos told you of any Skrull activity here on Asgard?" Loki wondered from the far end of the table.

"Nothing," Fury replied. He locked up the briefcase.

"We should initiate a plan of attack," suggested Steve. "How long are we going to wait around for? It's been three weeks and we've heard nothing."

Natasha nodded in agreement. "Maybe Thanos _wants_ us to attack him."

"A trigger," interrupted Loki. "If we attack now, we leave him feeling threatened."

"And that guy _needs_ a threat," Barton added.

Fury looked between all of them and thought to himself.

"I'd take the advice from the former villain." Tony poured himself another drink.

Loki turned to Stark and grinned deviously.

"Then if we attack, we attack quickly!" Fury warned them. He turned to Natasha. "He's already seen your attacks, so I say we go with something else, say…" He locked his eye on Clint. "Barton, you can give us a sure fire shot at him."

Clint nodded and put on his signature sunglasses.

"What say we have some fun with him?" asked Loki slyly.

Fury stared at him as though he was crazy. "What do you mean?"

"We can start by giving him something he wants."

"The Infinity Gems? Loki, they possess the gauntlet!" Thor reminded him.

"No, Brother," he smirked. "The Tesseract."

"You're crazy! He'll kill us, idiot!" Tony snapped.

"No," continued Loki. "A Facsimile. He'll never know the difference…"

Natasha caught on to what he was going on about. "Like what you used on me? That could actually work…"

"Exactly," smiled Loki.

"So we hand over a fake Tesseract and see what he does?" Fury asked.

"It will make him feel as though he has the power that he so _desperately _seeks. Perhaps then, he'll summon his army and we finish them all off."

There was a brief silence as the plan sank into everyone's brains.

"You're thinking like one of us, Loki!" Steve told him with a smile. "Welcome to the team!"

Loki felt taken aback by the sudden acceptance.

"Alas, we are Brothers and brothers-in-arms!" exclaimed Thor as he went over to playfully punch Loki in the shoulder.

Loki's inner circle seemed to be expanding. He had his Brother, Natasha, a child, and now, the Avengers.

Natasha smiled at him, glad that the others were finally accepting him.

Loki's gaze met with hers. Finally, he was beginning to feel whole inside.


	31. Chapter 31

The plan to fool Thanos was set to happen the following morning. Loki, however, couldn't manage to fall asleep that night. He snuck out of bed, careful not to wake Natasha, and left to visit Thanos and set things in motion right here and now.

Loki swiftly shut the door and made his way down the path leading to Thanos's cell. Under his arm was a stainless steel suitcase that he kept close to his side.

Thanos was seated at his bench and happened to look up at Loki with a grin. "No company tonight?"

He shook his head and held out the suitcase. "I'm holding up my end of the bargain," he informed him as he held out the suitcase.

Thanos' smile widened. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Promise me your Skrull army will bring no harm to the Avengers," continued Loki in a defeated tone.

The alien creature stared at him coldly. "For your cooperation, I could consider it. The Tesseract comes first."

Loki drew Natasha's ID which he had tucked in the folds of his shirt and swiped it to open the door. As he readied his arm to throw the suitcase inside, Thanos grabbed the case and Loki along with it.

Thanos threw Loki into the ground and snatched the suitcase from his hands.

While Thanos was occupied with trying to pry the locked case open, Loki escaped the cell and locked it behind him.

The steel case was soon torn apart by Thanos' bare hands, revealing the glowing blue Tesseract hidden away inside. He lifted it up into one of his large hands and marveled at its glory.

"There. You possess the Tesseract. Now what becomes of the Skrulls?" he wondered.

"Oh, they'll come," he grinned. "This earth will be left to nothingness!" He outstretched his arm towards the cell's door and waited for the Tesseract to use its powers. "Nothing happens. How is this of use?"

"Unfortunately, its powers don't work in that manner," Loki explained with a smirk.

Thanos' red eyes glared at Loki.

"Don't you see?" he coolly continued, "you've absorbed all of its power."

Thanos stared at the glowing cube in his hand.

"You've rendered it useless now," he gravely warned him. "All its powers are now a part of you."

A smile returned to the creature's purple face. "Is that so?" He threw a punch at the glass and Loki jumped back. The cell trembled slightly, but there seemed to be no damage to lead to any concern.

"Well," Loki shrugged, "this cage is proving to be quite impressive."

"Release me!" Thanos shouted.

"And ruin the fun?" jeered Loki as he stepped further away from the cell. "Why attack when the others are left defenseless? That's a sign of weakness."

"Whose side are you on, god?!" he demanded as his fist smacked the glass.

"I gave you the Tesseract, did I not?" With that, Loki ran off.

Loki quietly shut the bedroom door and made sure to walk across the darkened room just as silently.

"Where have you been?" asked Natasha. She had been sitting up in her bed, eyes locked on Loki in the darkness.

"Did I wake you?" he asked. He set her ID down on the nightstand beside bed.

"You were gone for a while," she reminded him.

He knew there was no point in lying to her. "I was giving Thanos what he wanted."

"You know you shouldn't have done that without backup," she reminded him.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "You will be glad to know that he lacks the power to break free."

She raised a brow. "And doesn't that upset him?"

"I told him that it would show weakness to come after his targets whilst they were asleep." He smiled and reached out to touch her face. "I've also convinced him that the Tesseract's power has been absorbed into him."

"You better hope he doesn't see through you," she warned him as she grabbed her phone.

His hand covered up the screen, filtering away the light that had illuminated the dark. "You should be asleep."

"After I message this to Fury." She brushed his hand aside and sent Fury a lengthy text summing up what Loki had told her.

Loki accompanied her in the bed and waited her to finish. When she set her phone aside, he pulled her against him and they soon fell asleep.


	32. Chapter 32

The persistent ringing from Natasha's phone woke her up earlier than expected. Just from hearing the ringtone, she knew it was Stark and when it came to his calls, she tried her best to ignore him. The ringing persevered and she quickly grew sick of it. Without bothering to open her eyes, she grabbed her phone and answered it. "Stark?"

"Thanos is gone!" he warned her.

"What?!" Taken by surprise, she bolted upright.

Loki had also been awake but no longer feigned sleep the moment he heard the shock in Natasha's voice.

"Yeah, the Tesseract's gone, too," continued Tony. "Fury said that you told him Loki gave it to him."

"Yeah, a fake!" she protested as she stared at Loki.

"Fake? Then where's the _real _one?!"

"We're heading over now." She snapped the phone shut and glared at Loki.

"Nata-…"

"What the hell did you do?!" she shouted. "You gave him the _real _Tesseract?"

His brows knitted together in confusion. "He was given the fake."

Natasha looked him in the eyes and could see nothing but an almost child-like innocence. "You're _sure_ it was a fake?" she asked.

"Commander Fury possesses the real one in a secret location," he reminded her. "Unless Thanos has sent his army…"

She grabbed her phone and gave Fury a ring. "Check the security footage from last night!" Her message seemed to go straight to his voice mail. "Fuck!" she growled.

Loki watched her leave the bed and change into her Black Widow suit. "You intend to wear your battle attire?"

"Still fits," she muttered as she attached her holsters. "If these Skrulls are really here, they'll take me for defenseless if I'm not suited up."

Loki, already dressed in his Asgardian attire from his previous encounter with Thanos, went over to Natasha's side. "Defenseless is a suitable role for you." He stood behind her and the two faced the full-length mirror near her closet. "You're a target now," he hissed.

Natasha took a good look at herself and lowered her eyes. "I know."

"You'll only bring harm to you. To our child," he continued.

"You have my back," she reminded him, turning to face him. "I'm only going to fight from a distance if I have to."

His fists clenched at his side. "I trust you not to be so foolish."

She placed her hands over his fists. "I know what I'm doing. Just promise me you won't get too overprotective." Before he could speak out in protest, she continued. "Those creatures don't know about us or the baby. If you get too clingy, they'll only want to target us even more."

His cold gaze softened as he heaved a sigh. "I'll take your word for it."

"Thank you." After a kiss, they were off to meet with the other Avengers.

Steve was the first to greet Natasha and Loki at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. He was already suited up as Captain America with his shield strapped across his back, ready for battle at a moment's notice. "You won't believe this!" he exclaimed as he walked inside with them. "After looking over security footage, a Skrull infiltrated the base disguised as an agent!"

"That's who let Thanos out?" asked Natasha.

Steve replied with a nod.

"Did Fury get my message? He didn't answer his phone," she added.

"He caught the Skrull who did it and has it in custody. That's where we're headed now," he informed them.

"I believe Anthony Stark mentioned the Tesseract has gone missing?" Loki prodded.

Steve's voice was brought to a whisper. "Fury told me he has it."

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. At least Loki wasn't lying to them anymore.

"We're playing off the fake Tesseract as the real one. Good job, Loki," he quickly added.

Loki managed a small smile. "Part of the plan."

Natasha brought a hand to her face. "Stark scared the shit out of me with that call! It's not even six," she groaned.

"At least we got on this quickly," Steve responded as they joined the other Avengers in a small briefing room.

There was a wide window in the room which looked out into the interrogation room where Fury was busy dealing with a green, alien-like creature that Loki, Natasha, and Thor were all too familiar with.


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Thanks so much to those who have reviewed/faved/watching/and reading the story. You guys are the best!**

"Where the hell did Thanos go?!" Fury shouted at the Skrull who was seated across from him.

Fury's rage made Natasha wonder how long this interrogation had lasted. "How long has he been at this?" she asked to no one in particular.

"A little after I called you," Tony replied.

"About that-never call me that early again. You know I just assume you're drunk dialing me," she warned him.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Speaking of that, can I get a drink?"

"It's not even six AM yet," Steve reminded him.

"I _need_ answers!" Fury demanded. His fist beat against the wooden table. "Thanos has the Tesseract-tell us where he is, along with the gauntlet!"

"Until we locate the three remaining gems, Thanos will remain hidden, waiting," the Skrull warned.

"Tell me you weren't drunk when you hid your gem," Natasha whispered to Tony.

"I keep it on me at all times," he winked.

Fury then leaned in closer to the creature. "Those gems are hidden away and protected by only my _best_ agents, so you tell Thanos that there's no chance in hell he's getting what he wants!"

"So the costumed warriors have them?" asked the Skrull.

"And there's no way in hell you'll get anything out of them!"

Loki turned to Tony. "I believe staying sober is the best option, seeing as though you're a target."

"Unless one of those things tries getting into my pants, they're not getting anything!" remarked Tony.

Clint began to laugh quietly while Natasha, Steve, and Bruce groaned in annoyance.

"What? I'm joking!" he cried. "It's a joke!"

"Now is _really_ not the time!" Natasha reminded him.

Nick Fury soon left the interrogation room, followed by Agent Hill and Coulson who led a hand-cuffed Skrull to a prison cell. "I want all of you to report back to your home base. You're on lockdown until further notice," he warned the seven of them.

"What happens when the Skrulls learn our location?" asked Steve.

"It'll certainly make things easier. I'm locking this place down and making sure all my agents are accounted for-we can't afford any more infiltrators here," Fury continued. "Speaking of that," he happened to glance at Tony and Bruce, "any way I can get you two to work on a DNA tracker?"

"Already on it," admitted Bruce.

Tony chided in. "It has its flaws, but we're getting there."

"Until you receive word from me, you're all under lockdown," Fury advised.

Loki leaned in and whispered into Natasha's ear. "This sounds like fun."

A genuine smile played at the corners of her mouth and she had to stifle a giggle.

"That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be," Natasha commented before she plopped down on her bed, cat-suit and all.

Loki chuckled and accompanied her on the bed.

"Now I just want to sleep," she said as she unclipped the holsters on her legs and her belts.

Loki set her accessories on her nightstand for her. "Tell me, is 'lockdown' a term for-…"

"We're stuck here," she finished as she unzipped her boots.

"Trapped in a cage," he mused. "Although this cage is far superior with more diversions," he said as he gave her a once over.

She rolled her eyes and removed her wrist blasters. "Sorry, but I'm not in the mood to play with you now. Maybe later." She flashed him a smile.

"Play?" he blinked. "I was just simply helping you undress." He unexpectedly leaned in and grabbed her uniform's zipper between his teeth.

She pursed her lips and watched as he unzipped her uniform down past her breasts. "Later," she warned him. Her hand playfully smacked his face away from her bosom.

Loki awoke in the early afternoon. Natasha was still fast asleep at his side, so he decided to leave her be. He took a shower and made himself presentable before he left Natasha's suite. His usual Asgardian clothing were worn so he would be ready to take on any Skrulls if need be. He wandered around the halls of the Avengers Tower until he came across the Avengers gathered in the group living room.

"Still no word from Mr. Fury," Steve informed him.

"Good to see you joining us, Brother!" Thor exclaimed from the couch.

Loki couldn't help but frown at the sight of his Brother languidly lounging on the couch. Atop the glass coffee table, Mjolnir lay on its side. "Thor, show some respect to your host!" he warned him through half-lidded eyes. His hand casually swatted the hammer's handle and it moved ever so slightly under his touch. For a moment, Loki was taken aback. He curiously stared down at the hammer for a moment.

"Is there a problem, Loki?" Thor asked him. "Stark does not mind if I leave my weapon here…"

Loki grabbed Mjolnir's handle and managed to lift it with ease.

"Bring it here, Brother," smiled Thor as he outstretched a hand.

"You've made a most _fatal_ flaw!" snarled Loki. Before Thor could react, he swung the hammer, striking Thor across the face and into the couch cushions.

"Shit!" Tony yelled, nearly dropping his glass of wine.

"Loki, what are you doing?!" cried Steve.

"Brother…" Thor rubbed his jaw and gave Loki a hurt look. His face had been badly bruised and blood began to trickle from his nose.

"Where is Thor?" Loki demanded as he tightened his grasp around the hammer.


	34. Chapter 34

"Whatever do you mean, Loki?" Thor asked.

"You can't fool me, you Skrull!" hissed Loki.

The other Avengers watched the brothers, in shock.

"No one but Thor has the strength to wield Mjolnir," he announced as he threw the hammer at Thor's chest.

"Is that so?" In an instant, Thor, along with Mjolnir, transformed into Skrulls.

"They can take on a weapon's appearance, too?" Hawkeye grabbed his bow from off the bar stand and shook it around.

"How did you get in here?" Steve demanded. He grabbed his shield that had been strapped to his back and held it out before him in defense.

"More importantly, where is Thor?" growled Loki.

One of the Skrulls decided to speak up. "It would seem your security needs to be checked."

"Bruce, give Fury a ring!" ordered Steve.

"How many more of you are in here?" wondered Tony.

Before the Skrulls could answer any more questions, Loki ran off. The thought of Natasha seized control of his thoughts. Knowing she was defenseless and unaware of what was happening worried him. Although he still worried on his Brother's behalf, she meant so much more to him. He made his way up to her floor and burst through the doors to her bedroom. "Natasha," he breathed. There was no sign of her in the bed.

"All your running had me worried for a second," she announced as she appeared from her bathroom. She was already back in costume. In her hand, she had her gun held out and ready to shoot.

"We're under attack!" he warned her.

"Just got word from Fury," she replied.

"Does he know where Thor is?"

"Fifth level," she began, using her professional tone. "Fury was getting a static reading, so Thor's probably been tied up…"

Loki raised a hand, not wanting her to finish. Deep down, he couldn't help but fear that his Brother had been killed again.

"Let's go get him. The others can handle the Skrull."

"There are two, actually," he informed her as they fled her bedroom. "They can take on the form of inanimate objects. Or so it seems…"

"Oh, wonderful," she sarcastically droned.

His brows knitted together as he continued to keep up with her pace. "I'm sorry? There is nothing 'wonderful' about that at all…"

"Sarcasm," she quickly told him as they reached the elevator doors. She pressed a button, but the lights were out, indicating that it was out of order. "Jarvis really has this place on lockdown," she muttered to herself. They moved towards the staircase and made their way up two flights until they reached the fifth level where Thor resided. Natasha found herself going into stealth mode as she wandered the empty halls with Loki. She tightly grasped her gun and kept her finger on the trigger. "This room." She pointed to a nearby door and went to open it. The door had been locked and before she could kick it down, Loki had magically summoned his scepter and broke the handle.

Loki's scepter pushed against the door. Inside the room, Thor had been chained to a desk. His hands were cuffed at the wrists and he had also been gagged and blindfolded. Quickly, Loki advanced towards his brother and removed the blindfold and gag.

"Loki!" exclaimed Thor.

"The mess you've gotten into! Mighty!" Loki laughed as he knelt down to attempt to loosen the chains with magic.

"Be careful-this is no chain!" Thor warned him.

Natasha grabbed Loki's shoulder to pull him aside. "A Skrull?"

Thor nodded and attempted to help Loki remove the chains, but to no avail. "They had appeared at my window upon my return here," he explained. "In the form of my Father's ravens with a note."

"Deceived again," growled Loki.

"Grab the chain and pull it as far as you can from his body," Natasha ordered Loki.

He grabbed a piece of the chain near Thor's arm and pulled. "Care to tell us the plan?"

"Easy. Just shoot it." A shot rang out as a bullet fired at the chain, followed by a scream. "Don't move!" Natasha warned the Skrull that was lying beside Thor.

It had a hand grasping its side as blood oozed from the wound.

Thor sprang to his feet and grabbed the real Mjolnir.

"These guys are gonna be just as big a pain as the Chitauri, aren't they?" remarked Natasha.

The Skrull began to laugh, despite its pain. "Could the Chitauri do _this_?" His hand transformed into a hammer similar to Thor's. He stood to his feet and swung his arm towards Natasha and Loki. Both had evaded the attack and they readied their weapons, ready to fight.

Loki shoved his scepter into the green-skinned alien's chest without any mercy. Blood spewed from the wound and the three stepped back. Loki withdrew the bloodied scepter from the creature. "We should see how the others have fared…"

Downstairs, the remaining Avengers had killed off the remaining two Skrulls with ease. Hawkeye had shot arrows at one, while Tony had blasted a hole through one with an iron glove. Steve had his back turned to the creatures, avoiding the blood. Bruce was off in a corner, rubbing his hands together and trying to keep his mind at ease so the other guy wouldn't appear.

"Did you get to see their special trick?" wondered Natasha.

"If by 'trick' you mean transforming hands, then yeah," replied Clint.

"They are far more clever than we had conceived," Loki noted.

Tony kicked at the pile of blood and guts on his carpet. "We're gonna need to amp up security… And get some clean-up. Jarvis?" he called out.


	35. Chapter 35

Three weeks had passed since the Skrull infiltration at the Avengers Tower. Since then, the security had been heightened. Tony and Bruce had completed their DNA identifier, along with new ID's for everyone. The Stark-Banner DNA identification had become one of Jarvis' latest features added so the residents of the Avengers Tower were free to come and go. There seemed to be no traces of the Skrulls, let alone Thanos, and this had always kept the Avengers on their toes.

Loki was sitting on Natasha's bed, leafing through a book on pregnancy. He had become transfixed by the subject as of recent since he was to become a father. He always enjoyed learning and the fact that there wasn't much to do lately also added to his reasons to read up on the topic. Also, Natasha simply set the book off to the side ever since Pepper had given it to her. "You really _should_ read into this," Loki said to her. He rested his head back against the headboard as he watched her.

"Maybe later," she said. Currently, she was staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror near her bathroom. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere as she turned to get a good view of her profile. A hand traced along the slight bulge of her stomach. This past week had been the first time she took notice of her weight gain. She tried adjusting her jacket to make the bump less evident.

"Natasha." He shut the book and set it back on her nightstand.

She snapped out of her trance and turned her head to stare at him.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

She turned to stare at her uniform that she had folded up atop her dresser. "I don't think I can fit into my suit anymore." She forced a laugh. Her career as the Black Widow was officially being put on hold. Now, she was moving onto the even more frightening position as a mother. "Did we ever talk about names?" she asked him.

"I believe I mentioned it," he informed her. He got out of the bed and walked over to hug her from behind.

"Any suggestions?" She felt that she could use the distraction, even though she was only fifteen weeks along.

"We don't know the gender," he reminded her.

"Something tells me it's a boy."

"A son?" he blinked. The idea of raising a boy of his own made him think of his own past. Whatever the gender, he knew that he would love it nonetheless.

"Throw some names at me." She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He began to chuckle softly. "I'm not familiar with Midgardian names. Would you want our child to have something Asgardian?"

She bit her lip for a moment. "Maybe we can hold off with the names for now."

"Freya for a daughter, Balder, a son…" he recited as a hand touched her stomach.

"I said we'll see!" She couldn't help but laugh at how… _different_ the names were.

"What was the name you mentioned before? Alexei, was it?"

She tensed up at the mentioning of his name. Even though she had never gone into the details between her and her late husband-she really didn't want to- the idea of naming a child after him seemed… acceptable. "Later we'll talk," she said as a call interrupted them. She grabbed her phone from the front pocket of her jeans and answered it. The call was from Nick Fury himself, warning them to assemble.

"That DNA tracker is going off the charts!" he warned. For convenience, he had linked calls with all the other Avengers-aside from Thor who could never work his phone. "The Skrulls are here. And I think Thanos is with them."

She ended the call and stared at Loki worriedly. "This could be it."

He pulled her against him. "We'll be alright," he promised.

"I'm going with you to meet with Fury. I'd rather not be here alone," she admitted.

"Alright." He hugged her tightly and kissed her hair.

Before they left, Natasha attached her holsters along with the guns and secured her wrist blasters.


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: Thanks to those who have been reviewing! You guys are great! And many a thanks to my readers!**

"These readings are off the charts. It's definitely the Skrulls," Bruce explained once all the Avengers, Fury, and Loki had been gathered together at the conference table. "This one other unidentified piece is Thanos, most likely."

"So they're closing in? From where, though?" asked Steve.

"An open wormhole." Tony rose from his chair and sauntered over to the wall-length window. "There." He pointed out towards the sky where a portal had seemed to form between the clouds.

"The portal to their world," Loki noticed.

"No Skrull readings down here yet, though. Right?" wondered Natasha.

"None. Not yet, at least," Bruce admitted.

"I say we fight on _their_ territory," Steve cut in. "Look at all the people at risk here!"

The six of us against Thanos' army?" Loki glared at his fellow teammates.

"There are other armed agents that can be dispatched. These Skrulls can't seem to put up much of a fight so firearms can work," said Fury. "But I see your point."

"We had a difficult time as it is fighting Thanos…" He shuddered at the memory as his eyes met with Thor's.

"Our key priority should be the gauntlet," Natasha reminded them. "And if we have _that,_ then we can kill Thanos with it."

"Surely, that is in Thanos' possession." Loki had to agree with Natasha on the need to kill Thanos. "Perhaps if we split up…"

"You said it yourself, Loki!" Thor suddenly shouted. "We couldn't defeat Thanos before-divided, we will surely meet our match!"

"Hey, guys?" Tony interrupted. "I don't think we'll have to worry about division right now…" He stared out the window, watching as from the portal in the sky a figure descended.

The group gathered around to watch as the figure riding upon a pedestal came down to the city streets.

"I'm going out there," Tony announced.

"I'll go, too," Steve quickly added. He grabbed his shield. Unlike Tony, he was already suited up. "We'll confront him as a team!"

"Meet you out there!" Tony said before he ran out of the room to suit up.

Just as the Avengers had assembled and were ready to leave the conference room, an explosion went off on one of the lower levels of the city's S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

"What the _hell?!_" growled Fury.

Iron Man suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Wasn't me, I swear!"

"I need everyone to evacuate. Now!" Fury ordered into his phone.

"Let's go!" Captain America led the Avengers down to the building's main floor.

Through the clearing smoke, Thanos appeared, accompanied by a Skrull that had previously served as a pedestal. "We meet again," he smirked. His right hand that wore the Infinity Gauntlet formed a fist.

"Stay back," Loki whispered to Natasha. The two had fallen behind from the rest of the group since Natasha needed to catch her breath.

"I'll be fine here," she told him. "Go." Her determined eyes met with his. He nodded and she watched him leave from the staircase. "Shit," she muttered to herself. Falling behind from her team left her irritated. She hung her head and slumped down onto the steps. Her team and lover were facing their strongest enemy yet and she was here, barely able to keep up. The idea that she was now 'fragile' was depressing. She placed a hand over her stomach and understood what she needed to do-she needed to get a grip and stay strong not just for the baby's sake, but for Loki and her team. Just because she could no longer fight as the Black Widow wasn't going stop Natasha Romanoff from aiding those she cared about in whatever way possible. She rose to her feet and made her way down the stairs.

"I've already given you the Tesseract," Loki reminded Thanos. "Is that not enough for you?"

"I need more!" growled Thanos. "You understand, don't you, god?" Slowly, Thanos approached Loki. "Was it not you who came _begging_ to me for power?"

Loki lowered his eyes as he recalled the events. He was changed now-he had everything that he could ever want and power wasn't on that list. "I was lost…" He found himself starting to use his scepter as a means to support himself from falling.

"You have them, don't you? Hand them over to me and I'll let you die quickly!" Thanos was ready to throw a punch at Loki, but Thor had swung his hammer at him, forcing Thanos to the ground.

"Is this to be a repeat of our last battle?" taunted Thanos.

"We _will _defeat you!" Thor shouted.

"Thor!" Loki snapped. "This is my battle."

"_Our_ battle!" corrected Thor.

Loki shook his head. "This has all been my fault. I'm responsible for bringing an end to this madness."

Thor summoned Mjolnir back into his hand and Thanos was able to freely rise to his feet.

"Hand me the remaining gems and this will all end." Thanos outstretched his gloved hand, waiting for Loki to hand over what was rightfully his.

Loki glared at him through slitted eyes. "I don't have them!" he growled as he thrust his scepter towards Thanos.

The creature evaded the attack. "The Tesseract's power will be used against you!" Thanos laughed. He outstretched a hand, waiting for the Tesseract's power within him to attack the god.

"How foolish you are!" Loki chuckled darkly.

A look of confusion and anger showed upon Thanos' purple face.

"I lied," said Loki coolly. "That Tesseract was a fake. Now hand over the gauntlet to me."

Thor readied himself to throw his hammer. Captain America had his shield in his hand, ready to throw. Iron Man had a hand extended, prepared to blast his enemy. Hawkeye had his bow ready with an arrow drawn. Behind the Avengers, Bruce had begun to transform into the Hulk.

"Did you forget my Skrulls?" Thanos reminded the group.

The Skrull that had accompanied Thanos to earth posed in a fighting stance.

"We can defeat you!" Loki warned him.

"You failed last time, remember?"

"We're a team now!" Captain America warned him.

Loki turned to Steve and smiled in approval. So he was one of them now? He could live with that.

The Skrull held out a small screen to Thanos. "The gems are nowhere near here! He's telling you the truth!"

"What is that?" asked Iron Man.

"Technology we've been working on," Thanos proudly stated. "Did you think we were simply hiding all this time?" He grinned in approval at the shocked Avengers. "We've developed a tracking device for the gems! They're as good as ours!" Thanos grabbed the device and took off just as a dozen more Skrulls appeared into the building.

Before the Avengers could attack, the Skrulls blocked them from getting to Thanos. Captain America threw his shield and knocked out one of the aliens. Before he could attack another, Loki had grabbed his shoulder.

"Where are they?" he demanded impatiently.

Steve looked puzzled for a second.

"The gems!"

Natasha noticed Loki and Steve off to the side and hurried over to join them.

"This will all be over if he finds them! We need them first!" Loki warned Steve.

"Leave this to us, Captain," interrupted Natasha. "We'll get the gems and bring them back here. Unless Loki manages to snag the glove…" she added.

Steve turned back to nervously glance at the others fighting. So far, only three more Skrulls were standing. For now, at least. "Tony, Hulk!" he shouted.

The two sped over, leaving Thor and Hawkeye fighting alone.

"The gems-where did you hide yours?" asked Steve. "Mine is in the pencil case on my desk."

"That's cute, Capsicle. Is your diary right next to it?" joked Tony. After a glare from Steve, Tony became serious. "Pepper's jewelry box. It's in a ring box. If Jarvis asks, the password's 'Tony.' Or you can smash the thing, but that won't make Pepper too happy, you—…"

The Hulk cut off Tony from his rambling. "Beaker in lab."

"We have to hurry!" Natasha warned Loki. "They've got a head start as it is!"

Fury suddenly appeared behind them and jingled a set of keys before Natasha. "I trust you with this, Romanoff," he warned her.

She grabbed the set of keys with a smirk. "Thanks!"


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Thanks you for all the reviews, guys! :D**

Luckily for Natasha and Loki, the city streets had been fairly clear due to a city-wide evacuation Fury had ordered. The lack of traffic allowed for Natasha to drive as fast as she pleased. "I think we're in good shape," she told Loki as she passed Thanos.

"You don't think this motor vehicle is going a bit fast?" he asked her.

"Scared, Loki?" she smiled.

"I'd rather not have to ride in these…" he laughed nervously.

She flashed him an assuring smile. "I've got this-don't worry!"

The two managed to arrive at the Avengers Tower safely, despite Loki being a bit shaken by Natasha's driving. Natasha had lost track of Thanos a few blocks back, so she wasn't too worried. "The only way he can ever get in here is blasting his way in," she reminded Loki. "And this place is fairly indestructible."

"You said we lost Thanos. You don't need to exert yourself," he said as he ran after her.

"I'm fine," she promised. The two began to dart up the stairs until they reached Steve's level of the penthouse. Natasha scanned her ID at the door and she was allowed in. The basic layout was the same all throughout the penthouse, so she had an easy time locating the bedroom. "Easy enough," she said as she grabbed Steve's pencil case from amongst his drawings. "Got it." Inside the case hidden between pencils and erasers was a blue gem stone. She swiped it and placed it in a small compartment attached to her belt. They left the apartment and Natasha led him to the elevator. "Leave it to Stark to want to be all the way at the top."

"And the lab?" wondered Loki.

"That's the next stop." She watched the number's on the elevator's small TV slowly rising. "Shit, the stairs might have been faster."

"You worry far too much," he warned her with a small grin.

"It's not that I'm worried she shrugged. "Just feeling a little rushed."

"We have all the time we need."

"Thanos has a tracker. He'll catch-…"

Loki pressed his mouth against hers to silence her.

When their lips broke apart, she had to catch her breath.

"Tired?" he asked her.

"It's not like me, I know," she admitted as she ran a hand through her short hair.

"You didn't have to accompany me," he reminded her as he held her hand.

"Who else knows this place better than the trained spy?" she slyly asked. "As long as I have you with me…"

The elevator bell dinged and they were in the Stark-Banner lab.

"Beakers… " Natasha breathed as she stared at all of the science equipment. The room had been filled with various science experiments. Lining the walls were tables and cabinets filled with all sorts of equipment. "You know what? How about I take this and you get the gem from Stark?" she suggested.

Loki pursed his lips in disagreement.

"What?" she asked. "According to you, we have time, don't we?" she raised a brow.

"I'm armed," she reminded him. "And it's in a jewelry box, password is 'Tony'- it can't be any easier. Just hurry and meet me back."

"Very well," he agreed. He took one last look at her before he fled.

Natasha decided to give Fury a call, hoping to make her job easier.

"Agent Romanoff?" he asked.

"Is Banner there?" she wondered.

"Fighting off several more Skrulls."

She could hear gunshots which she guessed were of fury's doing. "How are things there?"

"More Skrulls showed up, but we're managing," he growled. "And things over there?"

"No Thanos yet. I just need to find where Banner's hiding place is…" She hesitated. "We'll be there soon," she said before she ended the call. The first place she checked was near the latest projects which had been laid out on the worktable in the center of the room. After no sign of any beakers, she began to check the cabinets, both high and low.

"Any luck?" Loki asked as he appeared in the doorway. In his hand, he held up a red gem.

"Someone was lucky…"

Loki handed the gem off to her to hold onto.

"These guys really need to clean up," she muttered as she dug through a cabinet filled with used beakers and vials filled with chemicals. "Jarvis?" she called out.

"How may I be of assistance, Agent Romanoff?" his voice called out over the PA system.

"Any ideas of where Dr. Banner might've left a green gem? Roughly an inch in diameter…"

"I believe Dr. Banner leaves his more personal belongings in the drawer to your far right," the voice informed her.

Natasha checked the last drawer to her right and sure enough found the gem stuffed inside a beaker amidst crumbled up papers. "Thank you, Jarvis." She smashed the beaker and placed the gem in the pouch with the others. "Good to go," she smiled at Loki. "Aside from Skrulls back at base, the other guys are doing just fine," she added.

"We best hurry, then." He grabbed her hand and led her back to the elevator.

"Well, this was exciting," she sarcastically remarked.

He nodded and laughed. "Indeed."

There was an awkward silence and Natasha stared up at him from beneath her long lashes. "You're part of the team now." A smile played at the corners of her lips. "I heard the Captain."

"I've been redeemed, have I?" he asked, smiling.

"Congratulations." Her lips bushed against his collarbone. "Loki the Avenger. You know, just a little over four months ago, I never would've thought it would happen…"

He quietly chuckled as he held her in his arms. "I never imagined I would have such a change of heart."

"You were in hurting," she said quietly.

"Thank you." He lifted her chin to have her gaze meet his. "You've shown me so much, Natasha."

"Loki-…"

The elevator came to a sudden halt and the lights flickered before the power cut. From below, the two could hear an explosion go off."

"Fuck!" hissed Natasha.

He had found them. Thanos had arrived.


	38. Chapter 38

"We're safe here," Loki assured her.

"No," she warned him. "He has that tracker-this isn't exactly the safest place to be, Loki," she informed him. The last number that she had read on the small TV was '6.' They were only six stories away from the main floor. Being trapped was only making it easier for Thanos to find and kill them. "Help me out here," she said as she attempted to pry open the doors.

Loki's scepter magically formed in his hand and he wedged it between the doors. He attempted to force an opening, but was failing. "Step aside," he advised Natasha.

"What?" She turned her head. "Loki-if you blast it open, he'll find us faster. We might even go falling to the ground!"

"What do you suggest we do? We're driven into a corner!" he impatiently reminded her.

"Forget escaping here- that might be riskier…" Natasha listened for any sounds nearby. The power throughout the penthouse must have been completely knocked out by Thanos' blast since the smoke detectors and sprinkler system couldn't be heard. She couldn't hear any more sounds coming from below, but the sound of her heart pounding in her chest was driving her crazy.

"Travelling down the stairs is our only exit," Loki began. "Do you know of another way out?"

Her mind began to race with possible escape ideas. "Going down to Tony's lab requires making it into the basement level…" She paused and looked up to the elevator ceiling. "Give me a lift!"

He stared at her, brows knitted in confusion.

"We can climb up and hide here in the shaft," she told him.

"And the gems? He's tracking them-tracking _us_."

She shot him a crafty grin. "Remember that fake Tesseract?"

Loki caught on to her plan and smiled as he lifted her into his arms. "I'm glad to be stuck here with the clever one."

"Is that why you love me?" she wondered.

"One of the many reasons," he explained as he hoisted her up.

The ceiling tiles easily moved aside and she could see the darkness of the shaft above. "Lift me up some more?" After more of a boost, she managed to hoist herself onto the top of the elevator. "Climb up on the railing." She pointed to the rail and helped Loki as he climbed up with her. "All we need now are the fakes. Red, blue, and green."

"I know." He held out his hands and a faint glow radiated between them.

Natasha sat curled up beside him, watching in awe as he performed his magic.

Three glowing orbs formed in midair. As the orbs solidified, he cupped his hands and the three gems rested in his palms.

"That was amazing," she gasped. She had never seen him perform any sort of magic before.

He softly chuckled as he let the gems fall to the elevator floor. "Thank you."

Natasha reached down to fit the tile back in place, but Loki insisted on doing it for her. "And now we wait," she said as she leaned back against the shaft's wall.

Loki sat back beside her and held her hand.

After a brief moment of silence, another explosion sounded from below and shook the elevator slightly.

"Shit," she breathed. "That was from the elevator downstairs."

Loki couldn't help but notice the slight trembling of her hand. "Don't be frightened." He leaned in and kissed her hair.

"I'm not," she lied. Inside, she was terrified. All the 'what if's' poured into her mind. What if the elevator came down? What if Thanos didn't accept the fake gems? What if this was it for them? Not even Loki's arm around her provided much reassurance. She had come face-to-face with death many times in battle, so why did this have to be any different? For once, she genuinely feared dying. She had too much to live for now. She had a baby and Loki to think about. Dying wasn't on her list of things to do-not here, not now. Her vision clouded with hot tears and she tried her hardest to hold them back.

"Natasha?" Loki felt her body shaking and he leaned in to get a better look at her face.

"I-…" She wanted to lie to him that she was fine, but a stirring sensation in her stomach made her gasp. Natasha sat there in shock with a hand pressed against her stomach. The tears in her eyes rolled down her cheeks without her even realizing it.

He felt her body tense up against his. "Natasha!" He suddenly grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. A pang of fear shot through him as he noticed her hand grasping her abdomen. "The baby- Natasha, are you in pain?" Loki hadn't even bothered to try to hide the evident fear in his voice.

The sudden fear of dying had quickly been replaced with a feeling of excitement. "I-I think I just felt him move," she gasped with a nervous smile. "Oh, wow…" She stared down at her stomach, then into Loki's eyes. "Loki…" She noticed a single tear fall from his eye.

"That-that's wonderful!" he breathed with a smile across his lips.

Her smile widened and she threw her arms around his neck, holding him tightly.

"I love-…" Before he could finish, the elevator doors directly under them were forced open. Loki held Natasha against him tightly and held his breath.

They could hear Thanos' footsteps beneath them as he picked the gems off of the floor. After an unbearable silence, an explosion went off.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: Battle scenes, thou art a pain to write . I much prefer writing the non-fighting**

"Step out with your hands up!" Iron Man warned Thanos as he hovered in midair. He had his arms outstretched and the palms of his gloves radiated a light smoke from the blast in the penthouse wall he had made.

Thanos turned to face his opponent. "You are too late-as were your friends." He made sure Iron Man was watching as he stuck the missing Infinity Gems into their rightful slots. "They are all mine!"

"Where are the other two?" Iron Man demanded.

Thanos loudly chuckled. "Disappeared… or perhaps dead. Wherever they are, they left behind _exactly_ what I needed!" He outstretched his arm that wore the Infinity Gauntlet, aiming straight at the man of iron.

Tony readied himself for the worst, but nothing happened. "So… My turn?" He fired a blast towards Thanos, sending him back into the elevator. The elevator shook violently from the impact.

Loki tightly gripped the wire connected to the elevator in one hand while the other stayed around Natasha's waist.

Iron Man approached Thanos' collapsed form. "Glove of Wonder not working for ya, Blue Meanie?" he asked.

Before Iron Man could fire another blast, Loki kicked away the ceiling tile and jumped down.

"Shit!" Tony shouted. "Where the hell did you come from?"

Loki smirked as he helped Natasha down from atop the elevator.

"You're paying for that!" Tony warned them.

Loki ignored him as he knelt down to pull the glove from Thanos' hand. Just as he had a grip on it, Thanos punched Loki in the gut, sending him into the wall.

Natasha grabbed her gun and pointed it at Thanos.

"You deceived me one too many times!" Thanos shouted at Loki. "For this, you will die slowly!" he threatened.

Natasha fired two shots into Thanos' back.

He whirled around, his red eyes burning with rage. "You, too, will die, wench!"

Before Thanos could attack, the remaining Avengers arrived on the scene. "Better back off, buddy!" taunted Clint as he fired an arrow directly at Thanos' neck.

Thanos cried out in pain as he pulled the arrow from his neck.

Natasha took this time to reach into her jacket pocket to throw something towards Thor.

Through slitted eyes, Thanos took notice of the glimmering objects flying through the air. With one hand pressed to his bleeding neck, he charged at Thor. "The gems!" he snarled. Before Thor could grasp the flying objects, Thanos used his powers to stop them in midair.

"The hell?" Iron Man questioned.

"What are these?" growled Thanos. Frozen in midair were three coins. He whirled around to face Natasha, but she was gone.

"More tricks up your sleeve? Great," Natasha muttered sarcastically as she stood beside Loki.

"You haven't seen the full extent of my powers!" he barked.

Loki held his scepter out before him, shielding both he and Natasha. "You best hope your powers can protect you whilst cornered!"

Captain America threw his shield at Thanos' back, only to have it reflected right back. The trusty shield struck Steve right in the chest and sent him backwards, gasping for breath.

"Telekinesis?" Natasha breathed.

Thanos checked the tracking device for a reading on the _real_ Infinity Gems. The screen displayed that they were straight ahead, hidden away in Natasha's utility belt. "So you have been holding out on me!"

As he held out his hand, Natasha removed her belt and clutched it tightly. She could already feel the pull of his powers trying to snatch it from her grip.

"You think you can resist it?" Thanos mocked. "Very well." He slowly began to close his open palm.

A scream escaped Natasha's throat as pain wracked her body. Her insides felt as though they were being compressed. She let go of the belt and collapsed to the floor, hugging her middle.

The moment her body fell to the ground, Thanos relinquished his control over her body. He summoned her belt into his hand and chuckled darkly.

"Natasha!" Loki dropped onto his knees. "Hold on-I'll get you to safety."

"I'm okay," she gasped. "It just stopped…"

Loki shot Thanos a deadly glare. "Bastard!" he snarled.

The alien creature's smile only widened. "So killing her causes you pain? Glad to know. Prepare to suffer," he warned Loki as he dug through a belt compartment for the gems.

"SMASH!" Hulk charged at Thanos and grabbed him by an arm. The green beast pulled, using all of his strength. His opponent was certainly stronger than he was.

Thor took this chance to swing Mjolnir into Thanos' spine. Hawkeye shot an arrow into each leg and Iron Man blasted a hole through the creature's chest. After a rough pull, Hulk had taken Thanos' right arm clean off.

It was now Thanos' turn to scream out in pain. The three gems fell to the floor along with his arm.

"And now for the missing piece." Loki approached Thanos who had been brought to his knees. "The Infinity Gauntlet." A dark aura seemed to emanate from him as he confronted the enemy. He deserved to die in the most painful way possible. "This will make up from our last battle!" he growled as he drove his scepter through Thanos' armor and into his chest. Captain America firmly grasped Thanos' gloved arm, allowing for Loki to easily pull the gauntlet off. Hawkeye had taken the gems from the Hulk and passed them onto Loki who began to insert them into the gauntlet.

"Good work, team," Tony commented. "Any last words, big guy?" he asked the alien.

Thanos' missing arm levitated off the ground and magically reattached itself. "Best not underestimate me just yet," he warned them.

"Loki, just kill him!" Natasha shouted.

"Stand aside," he warned his fellow Avengers.

"My body isn't as weak as you may think." Thanos pulled the arrows from his thighs and rose to his feet. "I'm immortal!"

Loki slipped the gauntlet on but could already feel Thanos' powers pulling the gauntlet off.

Thor took notice and brought his hammer down on Thanos' arm. "Shoot him, Brother!"

"Get out of the way, Thor!" Loki shouted. "You're in my way!"

"Yes," Thanos sneered. "Release me and I can regain control over what is mine!"

"Watch out, Thor!" Natasha stood beside Loki and fired an electric wave towards Thanos.

The creature doubled over, giving Loki enough time to slide the gauntlet into place. He pointed his outstretched arm towards Thanos' fallen form. Everyone backed away as a beam of light shot out from the glove's palm and into Thanos' body. The blast completely disintegrated the creature's body, leaving behind nothing but a hole through three flights of the tower.

Tony and the others peered down, both frightened and in awe of the damage the Infinity Gauntlet had caused. "You're definitely paying for all this!" Tony warned Loki.

"The last order of business," Fury announced as he stood outside in the city gathered with the Avengers. "Closing up the wormhole. Let's hope that'll kill any mother fucking Skrulls that we didn't kill already." He turned to Loki who was holding the gauntlet in his hands. "Care to do the honours?"

Loki shook his head and chuckled. "No, actually." He turned to Thor. "Take it."

Thor looked confused. "Do you not want to make the final act of destruction?"

"I believe I've destroyed enough for one day." He could feel Tony's glare upon him. "Take it to Father, will you? That's where it rightfully belongs," he added.

"Surely you will return to Asgard! Father will be delighted!" beamed Thor.

"I'd rather spend some more time on Midgard now." He gave Natasha's hand a gentle squeeze.

"If you insist, Brother."

While Thor was left to destroying the wormhole with the gauntlet, Natasha pulled Loki aside. "That was strangely kind of you," she noticed.

A devious smirk played upon his lips. "You say that as though I'm heartless."

"You saved everyone today," she continued.

"I believe it was a team effort," he winked.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Look at how much you've changed," she smiled. "You're sure you don't want to get some praise from Odin later?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I'd much rather take advantage of some alone time with my lovely…."

She raised a brow.

"Bride?" he asked hopefully.

"We'll discuss this later," she told him playfully. "For now…" She leaned in to place a kiss upon his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered back before returning the kiss. He held her in his arms and enjoyed the blissful moment. It wasn't until he felt her body stiffen that he grew concerned.

Natasha felt a cramp in her stomach and tensed up, fearing the worst. A hand brushed against the crotch of her pants, now sticky and wet. She stared at her shaky hand, praying that this was all just another nightmare. She stared up at Loki with tears already in her eyes. "Help." Her voice caught in her throat as she felt a sharp pang in her belly.

As his gaze fell upon her, the crimson smeared against her fingertips needed no explanation. Loki's eyes grew wide with fear as he heard her whimper while grabbing her middle. With his mind racing, he lifted her up into his arms and ran to the others for help. Luckily, Tony had a car ready and rushed them to the hospital.

Loki held Natasha's hand tightly between his as the doctor stepped in.

Natasha briefly glanced at Loki before meeting eyes with her doctor. She didn't want Loki to be here-she didn't want him at _any_ of her appointments quite yet. The fear of losing the baby and having Loki there frightened her.

"Your hCG levels are perfectly normal, Ms. Romanoff. Your baby should be fine, so long as you avoid your day job," he began as he looked over his clipboard.

She breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly felt more at ease.

Loki gently squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

"Keep taking the immune suppressants and stay off your feet," the doctor continued.

"I'll try," she said with a nervous laugh.

Before the doctor could interject, Loki began to lecture her. "No! Natasha, this was one of the most frightening moments of my life!" He was practically shouting at her. "I don't care that you helped us save Midgard- you exerted yourself and look what happened! I'll have a word with the Director about—…"

"Loki," she laughed. His sudden over protectiveness was an endearing sight. "Okay. Bed rest. Got it."

Seeing that Loki had Natasha in place about her health, the doctor decided to continue. "You have an appointment in a few days, would you rather have an ultrasound done now?"

"Sure."

Loki wasn't sure of what was happening. He intently observed the doctor as he prepared Natasha for the ultrasound. He heard a noise and stared at the doctor.

"Heartbeat sounds normal," said the doctor.

So that was his child's heartbeat he was hearing?

"That's it, Loki." Natasha pointed to the black and white mesh of forms on a screen.

Loki blinked as he stared at the screen, then to her stomach as the doctor moved a wand over it. The Midgardian technology was very odd. "Is it…" The blob on the screen was his child. A piece of his own flesh and blood…

"Do you want to know the sex?"

"Sure." Natasha turned to Loki. "This will make deciding on names a lot easier," she remarked.

"It's a boy."

"Wow," she breathed. She turned to Loki and was surprised to see tears clouding his eyes.

A son. He held Natasha's hand just a little bit tighter. Reflecting upon his own upbringing, he made a promise to himself that he would never abandon his child or let any harm come to him. There would be no lies-his son would know everything, including the possibility of him being part Frost Giant. Even if he was, Loki would never look upon him as a monster…

"Loki?" smiled Natasha. "Are you okay?"

"You mentioned Alexei before," he began. "I believe that to be a rather noble sounding name…"

She stared at him, confused. "We don't need to pick a name now, just-…"

"I love you." He leaned in to kiss her. "You and our son. I'll do _anything_ for you," he whispered.

"And _that's _how I know you'll make a great father," she said before kissing him.

**A/N: There will be an epilogue, but other than that, this is the end. (Maybe I'll write more, but no promises) To all my reviewers, readers, followers, favers, you are all awesome and I love you! **


	40. Chapter 40 Epilogue

Five Months Later~

Natasha bit her lip, fighting back a scream as another contraction wracked her body. Her knuckles went white from grasping the hospital's bed sheets. She had lost count of the hours she had spent there writhing in pain, but she knew it had to have been almost a full twenty-four hours.

Loki happened to glance up at her as he uncomfortably shifted in the chair across from her bed. He didn't like seeing her in pain like this. He knew it was only natural, but it hurt him on the inside.

"Loki?" she asked.

He instantly rose from the chair. "Do you want the doctor?"

"Can you just talk to me? I need a distraction."

"Of course." He smiled for her and approached her bedside. "The doctor said you're almost there," he reminded her. "If that's any consolation."

"That was over half an hour ago!" she snapped.

"I suggested you accept the medication, but you're far too stubborn," he remarked.

"Just talk about something else!"

"We never _did_ finish our discussion on marriage," he slyly reminded her.

She reached out and grabbed his green and gold scarf. "Do you think I want to marry you right now?!" She yanked on the scarf, jerking him forward.

He nervously chuckled. "I'm only trying to help, Natasha."

"Help? _You_ did this to me! This is _your_son!" she snapped.

A devious grin formed on his face. "I believe recalling you complain these past several months about his constant kicking. Sounds like _your _son, in my opinion."

"I could kill you right now with your damn scarf!" she shot back. "Who the hell even dresses like that in a hospital?!" She released her grasp on his scarf and disdainfully eyed his button-up shirt and tie combo.

"I take care in keeping up my appearance," he informed her as he adjusted the scarf over his shoulders.

She simply rolled her eyes in reply. "Vain," she muttered.

"You know I only brought up marriage because I honestly do love you, Natasha." He brushed away a strand of hair from her perspiring forehead.

She forced a smile for him. "I believe you. Especially after all we've been through now…" she hesitated for a moment. "We can talk mar- no, get the doctor!" she ordered him, clenching her jaw.

"Just one more push, Ms. Romanoff," said the doctor. "Almost there."

Natasha squeezed Loki's hand and held her breath as she pushed.

"You're doing wonderful," Loki assured her.

After a final push, a high-pitched crying filled the room.

"Congratulations! It's a boy," announced the doctor.

A nurse took the screaming infant from the doctor's hands and began to wipe away the blood.

The doctor handed Loki a pair of scissors and the nurse held out the pink-faced infant so Loki could cut the cord.

Natasha fell back against her pillow, tears falling from her eyes. She watched as the nurse swaddled her son in a blanket before setting him in her arms. "He's perfect," she breathed. "Alexei…"

Loki smiled proudly as he leaned in to get a closer look. "So small…"

Natasha gingerly brushed her fingers against the baby's black curls. "He looks like you," she said, staring at her son all the while.

"I can see his mother in him." His finger stroked his son's pink cheek. "His face... Nose…" He found himself lost for words as he marveled at his son.

"I can't believe we have a son…"

Loki leaned down to kiss her hair. "I love you. You and our Alexei."

Natasha turned to stare at Loki. "I… we should get married," she suddenly announced. "Once we get settled in more."

Loki laughed and kissed her on the lips.

Four months later, somewhere between raising a baby and saving the world in between, Loki and Natasha had managed to plan a wedding with the help of their friends. The couple decided on a relatively small wedding inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. base with the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and Thor and Loki's parents. Thor was the best man and even dressed up in a suit, while Natasha decided to have Pepper as her maid of honour.

"You may now kiss the bride," Fury announced.

Loki pulled away the veil, allowing for him to get a better view of his lovely bride. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him for their romantic first kiss as husband and wife.

All of their guests clapped and cheered for them. Pepper handed a smiling Alexei to Natasha as she congratulated the couple.

"A proper family," said Natasha as she held her son close. "Everything we could ever want."

"I couldn't be happier, Mrs. Odinson," smirked Loki as he led her past all of their friends.

She rolled her eyes as she walked down the white-carpeted hall with her son in her arms and her husband at her side.

**A/N: The End. Yay for cheesy endings. Thank you to all my kind reviewers, readers, followers, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this story and I love you all! (Maybe I'll write a sequel-no guarantees, though. But I'll def write more Avengers fics in the future). **


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